


“Dirty Volleyball”, directed by Ennoshita Chikara

by InuAraXHaikuu



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AsaNoya - Freeform, AsaNoya Main Pairing, Comedy, DaiYui - Freeform, Director Ennoshita Chikara, Dirty Dancing, Ennoshita directs a romantic comedy inspired by the movie Dirty Dancing, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Love, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hinata's house, Jealousy, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Romantic Comedy, Summer Vacation, and everyone is involved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:08:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 45,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24682858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InuAraXHaikuu/pseuds/InuAraXHaikuu
Summary: Perhaps not everyone knows that Ennoshita enjoys making movies in his spare time, involving all his teammates (and sometimes even members of other schools).What if he decides to make a romantic comedy based on a famous Hollywood hit?-----------The last week of vacation, a movie set, misunderstandings and revelations. And a flock of crows into the fray. Chaos guaranteed!
Relationships: Azumane Asahi & Michimiya Yui, Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Hinata Shouyou/Yachi Hitoka if you squint, Michimiya Yui/Sawamura Daichi, Nishinoya Yuu & Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Sawamura Daichi & Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	1. Action! (… your actions make me dizzy)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!  
> Thanks for passing by! ;-)  
> Amazing Tempuriio beta readed and edited this story! I can't be more grateful for their precious help!

Thursday

Asahi was still, looking at Michimiya.

Standing in front of her, he looked at her from behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses.  
They both stopped breathing.

In the heat of the late afternoon, the wind blew Asahi's hair.  
"This is it ," he murmured in a steady voice. His hand trembled when he took off his glasses though. And in the corners of those big scorched earth-colored eyes, something was unquestionably shining.

Michimiya took a rebel curl between her fingers. She tried to smile. "I can't imagine being here without you."  
She took one step towards him.

"Just think." Asahi took off his leather jacket and threw it on the back seat of the car along with his glasses. And he didn't take his eyes off her, not even for a second. "You'll have more time for games and swimming in the lake..."

Michimiya hesitated. Then she laid her hands on his chest, squeezed into a black, creased T-shirt.

Asahi's hands closed around her waist, strong.

Michimiya let out a sigh. "I guess we surprised everybody" Her cheeks were as red as two cherries.

"I guess we did." A slight laugh shook him for a moment. Sincere and sad at the same time. The air vibrated around him and continued to vibrate for a few moments even after the laughter faded. "Hardly would be sorry," he added.  
With a gentle movement of his thumb, Asahi released the lower lip that Michimiya was tormenting between her teeth.

"Neither will I." Her voice cracked, but her eyes never stopped smiling.

Asahi let his fingers slip through Michimiya's hair.  
The other hand rose too.  
He grabbed her face.  
He swallowed and his Adam's apple was the only thing that moved.

They were so close, pressed against each other, that if they just even breathed they would have ruined everything.

Asahi's lips were ajar. It was hard to say where they started and where they ended: they were lost in his tanned skin and, looking for them, the eye would easily linger on the outstretched line of his jaw, on the barely hinted beard, to rise once again to the intense, fierce, caressing gaze. And then it would descend again on his lips.

He waited no longer.  
He bent over to her.  
He drew her to himself.  
He closed his eyes and...

"Cuuuut!"

"Oh, shit."  
The expletive escaped Nishinoya's lips immediately.  
"I like Asahi-san", he said to himself with the face of one who had just been electrocuted.

"Good!", Ennoshita’s voice thundered in his ears; he had passed the camera to Narita and entered the scene to give directions to the actors.  
"Asahi, Michimiya, everything was perfect! We'll see the reverse shot tomorrow, as the light is already changing."

Nishinoya realized that he was still with her arms outstretched to hold the reflective panel high above his head.  
The scene was long over.  
He slowly lowered it.  
He looked around in panic. No one seemed to have noticed the revelation he had just had. Nor that his salivation had cleared and his eyes were practically out of his head. No one seemed to have recorded the same earthquake that had destroyed the foundations of the world he had known until then.

"And tomorrow we’ll see the kissing scene!"

At those words Nishinoya turned around and almost cursed again.  
The kissing scene.  
Ennoshita had moved to report something to someone-who-cared-who. At that moment this had very little importance for Nishinoya. What really mattered was that Asahi’s face was red, he passed his hand behind his neck as if he didn't know what else to do, and giggled embarrassedly looking at Michimiya and looking down at the ground. And at one point, looking... at him.  
Fuck.  
Nishinoya immediately looked away; and his body temperature shot up to a thousand degrees; and he must have imagined it, because there was no reason for Asahi to look in his direction, except by accident.  
Damn Chikara and his romantic comedy.  
Nishinoya looked up again and this time found himself crossing his eyes with Ryuu's, who, not far away, with a dumb smile and completely unaware of what he was going through, gave him a thumbs up. A fucking thumbs up.

Nishinoya wrinkled his face, defeated.  
It was only Thursday. It was going to be a long, long week.

It all started with that piece of paper. That damn sheet of paper on which all their names were scribbled like a promise.

-

DIRTY VOLLEYBALL  
Written and Directed by Ennoshita Chikara  
With: Azumane Asahi, Michimiya Yui, Takeda Ittetsu, Shimizu Kiyoko, Tsukishima Kei, Tanaka Saeko  
Room: Narita Kazuhito  
Photography: Yachi Hitoka  
Music: Sugawara Koushi

Technical and Artistic Staff: Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shoyo, Kinoshita Hisashi, Yamaguchi Tadashi, Nishinoya Yuu, Sawamura Daichi, Tanaka Ryuunnosuke, Aihara Mao, Sasaki Chizuru

-

A week earlier, waving that paper under his nose at the end of afternoon training, Chikara had caught his attention.  
And the one of the rest of the team.

"You are onto another film, aren’t you, Ennoshita?", Daichi asked, with an encouraging smile.

"Yes," nodded Chikara, the phlegm replaced by a certain enthusiasm. "And I'd like to get you all involved."

"Wow, that's cool!", exclaimed Shoyo.

"Shut up, dumbass. Let him finish talking." The usual grumpy Kageyama’s words.

"Look at that!", Suga approached him, peeking at the paper, while passing a towel on his neck. "Are you thinking of a romantic comedy?"

Ryuu had turned towards Nishinoya, Nishinoya towards Ryuu, both towards Kyoko-san.  
And everyone had turned towards Ennoshita.

"Well, I noticed that I haven't made this kind yet. A film like this is missing from my repertoire, and I think it's time I put myself to the test."

"Wise words, Chikara! This team needs a little romance!"

Yachi was blushing and Yamaguchi's embarrassed giggle was the only one to break the silence.  
Ennoshita hadn't given Ryuu a glance and had moved on.  
"I actually thought I could do it in the last week of summer vacation."

"I guess there's no better time," said Daichi.

"Yes, with the maintenance work they have to do in the gym and everything, we still won't be able to come to school for training," Suga added, lifting a flap of her shirt to get some air in the late afternoon heat.

"Well, it's not like we're going to stop training," Ennoshita hurried to point out. "The movie will be about volleyball and when we're not shooting, we can play games," he concluded with a touch of pride.

Nishinoya had exclaimed something. In fact, he had rejoiced at the full lungs by pulling the others behind him and had earned - as expected - a reprimand from the captain.

The truth was that after the victory over Shiratorizawa and before throwing themselves headlong into training in preparation for the nationals, they all needed a little breathing room. And a little distraction didn't hurt at all.

That was a wonderful opportunity. Great Chikara! Great director Ennoshita!

"There's no problem with the equipment. After the awards my movies won, the school gave me some great tools. The camera, the lights, the sound system..."

"Ennoshita-san! What's the story about?", Hinata interrupted him.

"The title seems to be clear to me."  
Tsukishima had looked down on him and Hinata had grunted, upset.  
"Dirty volleyball", Tsukishima continued, as if talking to a child totally incapable of understanding, "...It's obvious to me that the idea is to refer to the American comedy 'Dirty dancing'."

"Bravo, Tsukki! You always know everything!"

"Shut up, Yamaguchi"

"Sorry, Tsukki!"

Dirty dancing? But wasn't it one of those melodramatic old movies that big sis Saeko liked so much? A movie with guys dancing in it?

"Tsukishima is not wrong," continued Chikara, "My story will take its cue from this Hollywood success, but with some changes. It will be the story of Baby, a rather clumsy girl who goes on holiday to a resort with her family. There, Baby will meet Johnny, an exceptional volleyball player who teaches this sport and gives the customers of the resort volleyball lessons".

At that point, sly Chikara had unraveled a story full of all the usual clichés: something like that the super spiker was supposed to play a two-on-two game, but at the last minute his usual volleyball partner had been prevented by something unexpected. It just so happens that he would have asked Baby to save his ass and while the two of them were training for the upcoming match, love would have blossomed. Obstructions from her family, obstacles of fate, happy ending; the whole package, in short.

"The main character has the charm of a bad guy, but he'll turn out to have a big heart..." Nishinoya had suddenly become more careful. Bad boy, big heart...  
"And I'd like you to play the role, Azumane-san."  
Bingo.  
Nishinoya had turned to Asahi.  
Everyone else must have turned to Asahi at the same time, too, because the boy had taken a step back.

After he'd been quiet until then, Asahi had said, "Um... actually, I was wondering... I mean, I read my name on that paper and... I don't think I can do it, I mean, the main character..."

"You'll be perfect", Ennoshita had cheered him on, "After all, it's not the first time you've played an important role in my movies. And you've always succeeded."

"Asahi-san!!", Nishinoya stepped in, overtaking Chikara and jumping - literally - on Asahi. "You'll be so cool!!! And don't try to be a pussy!"  
Asahi had hurried to shake his head and giggled a few excuses, his face purple.  
Euphoria sizzled in Nishinoya’s stomach like butter in a pan.  
He was fucking proud of Asahi.  
"Did you see the original film?! You're perfect for that role!"  
Asahi couldn't contradict him, as always.

"And for the female lead," Ennoshita continued, shifting his triumphant gaze from Asahi to the other two third years, "I would think of Michimiya Yui."

"Hmm...?" A disoriented smile had stuck on Daichi's face. "Michimiya?"

"Oh, but it'll be perfect!" Suga had joyfully approved the director's choice. "Who’s better than her? She can play volleyball and...", he turned to Asahi and put his arm around his neck, "...you two will look great together!" He then turned to Daichi to ask him for comfort: "Won’t they?"

"Y-Yes!", replied Daichi.

"I just need to find the right location, maybe I could ask..."

"Ennoshita-san!" Shoyo vibrated of anticipation, like a moment before hitting a ball that Kageyama had tossed just for him.

"Yes, Hinata?"

"My parents won't be here all week, they're visiting relatives with my little sister and... I mean, I can ask, but I think it's okay! You know, I live on the other side of the mountain. And there's a little lake nearby and there's a little field. We could put up a net and..."

"It would be perfect", Chikara's eyes lit up, his mind surely already in motion to match everything, "We could stay there even at night, that way we could shoot as much as possible and in a week the movie would be ready... If your parents are okay with it."

Shoyo nodded with conviction.

"If it's okay with all of you..."

They'd still have to ask their families, and get organized with the last of their fucking holiday assignments, and logistics, of course. But all they had to do at that moment was look at each other. And in a conditioned reflex of collective exaltation, they shouted in unison, "Karasuno, fight!"

It had been about a week before.  
One way or another, they had set up the set for the movie “Dirty Volleyball.”

At that moment, Asahi was standing there on that set.  
And Nishinoya was looking at him from afar, petrified.

The unthinkable had just happened. But no one had noticed.  
Time hadn't stopped flowing. The sun hadn't stopped shining on Asahi's face as he laughed with Michimiya, his eyes narrowed and his head back.

What had stopped beating was his heart.  
To hell with it.  
Nishinoya straightened his back and turned to Ryuu, busy helping Yamaguchi move a box full of cables.  
When Nishinoya planted eyes on him, some red warning signal in his best friend instinct had to flash, because Tanaka turned to him with a questioning look.

All Nishinoya had to do was point at him with one finger.  
You. Follow. Me.  
And Tanaka dropped everything and followed him.

***

"Cuuuut!"

Michimiya had laid her hands on Asahi's chest.  
They had to be fresh, those hands, against the skin.  
Michimiya was blushing.  
Her cheeks looked so smooth...  
Michimiya had made a strange little noise, impossible to be cataloged.  
A strange little noise to lose your mind.  
And then she had closed her eyelids over her eyes.  
Since when did those eyelids have such long eyelashes?  
She had just reclined her head back, leaving access to her lips free.  
Her lips.

Daichi hadn't heard Ennoshita's voice cut filming.  
He had forgotten he was on the set of a movie.  
He had even forgotten he was the captain of Karasuno in his third year of school.  
He couldn't take his eyes off Michimiya, and it seemed the only thing he could really do at the time. Not that he was aware of it.

"What's wrong? Looks like you swallowed an ice cube."

He hadn't even heard Suga come near him.

Michimiya was leaning against the hood of the car and she was so relaxed... (even if a moment earlier she looked like she was about to cry…) and she was melting into a sparkling laugh. Asahi approached her, not at all tense, and ran his fingers through his own hair. He seemed to be infected by her laughter.  
Then she leaned towards him, and put her hand on his arm.

"Aaaah, how pretty Michimiya is in Asahi's arms..."  
Suga's comment, that's what he was able to hear. That was the tone of someone who knew a lot.  
"No, I mean, look at her."  
Daichi couldn't help it. He looked at her.  
"It's a pity director Ennoshita didn't choose you for the role, Daichi...", he teased him.

"Cut it out," he cut it short himself.  
He got up abruptly and headed home, leaving Suga behind, giggling.

A shower would do him good, he said. A nice cold shower.

After all, it was Michimiya. And Asahi. 

***

Nishinoya was sitting with his feet dangling on a stone wall.  
His head was buzzing and he had been standing there for a long time with his eyes fixed in front of him.

Ryuu was leaning against the same wall, his hands in his knee trousers pockets. He, too, looked in front of him without saying anything.

They were not so far away that they lost sight of the dirt road where they had just shot the scene, nor so close that someone could hear them.

Not far away, there was still a lot of movement. Yachi was busy bringing back some props, helped by Tsukishima. Kageyama was railing against Hinata, who had dropped some potatoes for dinner that night, while going from the pantry to the kitchen.  
And Asahi, still standing on the set next to Michimiya, was flipping with her through what looked like the script.

Nishinoya swallowed. "Ryuu"

"Noya-san?"

"I wish I was in their place"

Tanaka burst into laughter. "I know, I know! What kind of lucky is Asahi-san...! Michimiya is such a pretty girl. Not as pretty as Kyoko-san, of course, but she's very, very pretty." He stretched his arms, the lighter tone. "Aaah! I wish I was in Asahi-san's place too!"

There was a moment of silence. Then Nishinoya decided to break it. "But I wouldn't want to be in Asahi-san's place. I'd like to be in Michimiya's place."  
The bomb had been dropped. Nishinoya held his breath. He peeked at his friend's reaction.

"Ah." Tanaka was stuck with his arms above his head. "Fuck"

"Yeah"

Funny, he was afraid that Ryuu would freak out, but instead...

"You mean YOU wish you were instead of...?"

Ryuu was freaking out.  
Nishinoya quickly shut Ryuu’s mouth with his hand.

"Sssh, Ryuu! You're screaming!"

"Pfi meanpf, pfyou wish pfyou are insftead of Mifchifiya?!?!"

He nodded quickly. Tanaka looked at him with the most questionable eyes that had ever been placed on his face.

"Because I like him," confessed Nishinoya in a breath, "Yes, I mean... Asahi-san. I realised that apparently I like him."  
Nishinoya kept her eyes down. He focused on the string hanging from his shoe.  
And he didn't resist when Tanaka moved his hand from his own mouth.

"Do you... like him?", Tanaka whispered so others wouldn't hear. "Since when...?"

"For about five minutes. Or maybe ten already. I don't know. I brought you here and I'm telling you. And you're no help making that face. How long will it be? Ten minutes?"

"Noya, you're telling me you've been into Asahi-san for ten minutes?!"

"Yes! I mean, no...! Well, no, God, I don't think so," he put his hands in his hair and squeezed them, frustrated, "I think from before... It's not like I've had all this time to think about it. I was, like, electrocuted. Ten minutes, I mean, from the moment I realized it. I guess."

Tanaka tightened his lips and tilted his head to one side. He stayed still for a while. He seemed to think. Nishinoya had expected everything. To see him screaming and panicking, but not 'thinking'.  
"Well... if you think about it, it makes sense, doesn't it? You've been drooling after him forever", he finally resolved with satisfaction.

"That's called admiration, Ryuu", hissed Nishinoya, puffing all his embarrassment out of his nose.

"Yeah! Of course! The ace always has his charm, doesn't he?"

At that point Nishinoya no longer knew whether Tanaka was talking about Asahi or himself in a projection of the future.

Who did he want to tell it to anyway?  
Admiration.  
Suddenly, all the times he had kept his eyes glued to Asahi's back on the court, they took on a different meaning from the good old alibi of the good libero who does his job. An alibi that apparently he wasn't even aware that he had built up, day after day.

"Anyway, we've been here for three days. We've already shot a lot of scenes. Asahi-san is the undisputed protagonist of the story in all his beauty," Tanaka winked slyly, elbowing him, "...and how come you're only coming out with this revelation today?"

"How should I know? The scenes here are all messed up... Did you know that when you shoot a movie, the scenes aren't in order?! God, I'm going crazy! We shot the hotel scenes all together, and then the ones with Takeda-sensei as Michimiya's dad, and a few others... and Asahi's always great, I mean, look at him! When he's not shitting his pants, he's perfect. But they were all normal scenes, nothing fancy. Then… that scene. I mean, one of the last scenes in history. And they have to break up when they want to be together... And he's all... did you see him? Did you see the way he approached her for...? And nothing. At some point, I just wanted to be Michimiya, you know? I wished it! I looked at him and I didn't understand anything. And... boom! It was like the world exploded together. I mean, does Ennoshita want to shoot that scene? Fucking tell me. I wasn't ready!"

"So… you did read the script, didn’t you?"

The air around them seemed to crystallize.

"...No."

“…”

"What about you?

"No.”

They both sighed.

"Ryuu?"

"What's up?"

"All this... changes... something?", Nishinoya dared.  
The answer to that question was what he feared from the beginning of that conversation.  
He knew Ryuu, and in his heart he hoped to know that answer.

"What kind of bullshit is that?! Why should anything change?"  
Fuck, yeah, he knew him!  
"I mean, at least Kyoko-san is all mine now!"

"In your dreams!", he shouted, exhilarated. (A load off his mind). "By the way, I didn't say I'm giving up on Kyoko-san!"

"Ha ha ha! Of course, you can't give up on Kyoko-san!", Tanaka enthusiastically echoed.

"Would you stop worshipping a goddess just because you like someone?", Nishinoya continued, excitedly.

"I certainly wouldn't!"

"Neither do I!"

"So you're...?" Tanaka came out of it, wiping tears from his eyes. "Noya, what the hell are you?!"

The question was pertinent, but he simply didn't have the answer.  
"Bah! What do I know? Does it matter?"  
The only answer he was able to give at that moment was to print his usual unpunished grin on his face.

"Not one bit!" And that was enough for Tanaka. "I'm just saying. It's not every day you get something like this. I mean... it's a big deal!"

"You're damn right! I’ve just always hated labels. I am me. Period. And yes, I like Asahi-san!"  
(Just like I never liked Kyoko-san. And I liked her, I liked her a lot! I would have thrown myself into the fire for her!).

"Well said! So, what are you going to do?"

Nishinoya looked at him without understanding. "Why? Should I do something?"

Tanaka scratched his shaved head. "Well, I don't know... do you have everything under control?"

"Everything!"

"Are you sure?"

"Noya! Ryuu? Where the hell are you guys?" Ennoshita's voice blew them away. "Come! Dinner must be prepared!"

Nishinoya didn't have time to add anything else.  
He was sure… Wasn’t he?!  
He jumped up and followed Tanaka into the house.  
In any case, if there was even one certainty left to him at the end of that day, it was that he had the best of best friends.

***

"So, you guys finish up here?"

Suga hurriedly dried his hands and threw the cloth at him. Daichi grabbed him quickly and gave him a look in response: if Suga thought he was acting like a best friend like that, he was mistaken.

They had just finished their dinner, and the three of them were in the kitchen: Daichi, Suga and Michimiya.

"Wooohhh! I'm faaaaster!"

" You'll never beat me, you idiot!"

And Kageyama and Hinata, how to forget; engaged in a race about who was faster to dry the dishes. Of course.

"Guys," Daichi's voice came out dangerously low, "I told you, you're going to break them."

"Sorry, Dai-san!" they shouted in unison with an obedience that was nothing compared to their volume.

Oh yeah, Suga.  
With his hands still wet, Daichi looked at the mountain of dishes they had to wash.  
He watched Michimiya humming to herself and hadn't stopped rubbing a cast iron pan.  
And then he looked at Suga.  
Daichi was about to tell him something when Mao peeped out the kitchen door, followed by Chizuru. They were Michimiya's best friends and teammates, and they too had been hired by Ennoshita to act as extras in the movie.  
The first one looked around, distractedly knotting her hair in a long ponytail. "Sugawara, you're here. Aren't you coming anymore?"

"Yes, yes, here I am!", Suga twittered in reply.

"Girls, where are you going?"  
"Where are you going?"

The two questions had overlapped, and Michimiya and Daichi blushed slightly.  
There followed a short dance of "Sorry, you were talking," "Please, you go," before agreeing that, yes, they both wanted to know where the others had decided to go while the two of them were washing dishes.

Suga answered: "The girls and I thought we'd go for a walk by the lake. The moon is high and the path is well lit."

Daichi seemed calm and peaceful as usual, he was sure of it. He knew that the others couldn't understand what he was thinking at that moment. But there was such a confidence between him and Suga that it was impossible for the latter not to catch a peremptory "Don't you dare" in his eyes.

Yet this did not stop Suga from shrugging his shoulders and, without ever ceasing to smile candidly, adding: "We wanted to go and see the stars".

"Wow, yes, the stars are so beautiful seen from the lake!" Hinata had meddled with his proverbial enthusiasm before Daichi could say anything.

"Stars are always stars, wherever you look," and Kageyama also said his own.

"Bah! You should see them before you speak!"

“Let’s race to the lake!”

"Let’s race!"

The two of them were already stretching their arm and leg muscles to get ready to start their race, when some remnant good manners made them turn towards Daichi, waiting for permission.

"Yaeah, go ahead," he sighed. And that was the start of the race, judging by the way they jumped out of the kitchen screaming like kamikazes.

"So, are you going to finish up here?"

"Yes, of course, Sugawara, go ahead," replied Michimiya for both.

"Why don't you join us when you're done?" Suga suggested after a moment of silence. Daichi swore that he saw him wink.

"Why noy?," Mao added, "Take aaaaall the time you need, and then come and see the stars! I'll leave you a blanket here, it'll be chilly out there, maybe you'll need it," she chuckled, and then she was already out with the others.

Michimiya had one hand on the sponge, the other one on the handle of the pan; and her eyes fixed on that wretched plaid that would barely cover a person.

Seeing the stars. Under the same blanket. With Michimiya.  
It was a natural thing, wasn't it? And yet his heart went down his throat.  
Daichi quickly turned his eyes away from that same wretched plaid. He took a sponge and started rubbing again what apparently was a cutting board in the dish soap foam.  
She started rubbing again too.  
The same cast iron pan as before.

The kitchen seemed to be quiet all of a sudden. Daichi would have wanted to say something, anything.

"Did you like the curry tonight?" It was her who broke the silence.

He clarified his voice. "Very good. Not too delicate, not too spicy. Your curry's been good since junior high school."  
It was true. The simple, pure truth.

"Well, it wasn't all thanks to me!", Michimiya shielded herself, "Some of the boys helped me peel potatoes and carrots... By the way, how rowdy are those first years!??"

"Don't tell me..."

"...then Hitoka-chan and Kyoko-chan took care of the rice... I just spiced it up. Well... do you still remember?"

"Mmm... what?"

"My curry, I mean, when I made it in junior high."

"Of course, we were on a mountain trip with..."

"...with all the classes of our year! Ahaha, yes, I remember! And I remember how clumsy I was! And do you remember the crazy way I peeled my knee?! My goodness, that hurt! Swiiish! I scratched it right against the bark of that tree when I came down after retrieving the ball."  
It never seemed to take a breath, Michimiya, the silence of just before already light years away.  
"...and you helped me dab the blood - do you remember how much came out of it?! - and... well, I remember that very well, you yelled at me so hard...!"

"Ahahah, yes, it's true."  
Michimiya Yui was a flood. And he... yes, he liked it that way.  
"I told you we could get that ball back, me or Hayato, that you should be more careful and not do anything rash. Well, I admit I used to be a pretty boring kid back then..."

"Not at all! After all, you were already much more mature than the rest of us! And it's always been your beauty..."

"My beau-?"

"...Well, you know, I just wanted to toss a few balls with you guys: you were so good!"

"But you were great too!"

"Oh, well..."

Before she lowered them again, Daichi saw in Michimiya's eyes the same frustration he had seen in his own when they were defeated by Aoba Johsai.  
You can be good, but it's not always enough.  
He felt the instinct to hold her close. Instead he said, "You… you've been very good today..."

"You think so?"

Daichi nodded, unable to wipe the smile from his lips. "I believed you, you know?"

"Come on, don't be too good to me!"  
The punch that she threw immediately under his sternum for a moment took his breath away. How strong was that girl?  
"I have so much to learn! I think acting is a lot harder than this!"

"Ah, I believe it," he said, between coughs, "but you did great. You always put your soul into everything you do. And I can tell. I mean, for a second there, I really thought you two, I mean, you were..."  
What kind of talk was he getting into?!

"In love?" she ended with a little voice.

He nodded.

"Well, yeah," she went on, dishes left in the sink, "I mean... Ennoshita's great... I think he's going to be a famous director."

"Yes, I think so too."  
Why did he feel all that heat coming up his neck and exploding in his cheeks?

"And then it's... it's all because of you... the ‘illusion,’ as Ennoshita calls it! You're all there, the light is beautiful, there's make-up, and you have to say things that have been already written, you don't talk in vain like in life when... hahahah... yes, you talk..."  
How beautiful she was when she laughed like that...  
"...you talk and you don't even know what you're saying! Besides, with Azumane, it's really easy to feel comfortable!"

"Ah... yes?" He felt his throat knotted.

"Yeah" Michimiya smiled as she always did, lighting the room with her smile.

He wanted so much to smile like that at that moment, but he just couldn't.  
"So don't... don't..." What did he have to lose? "...don't you worry about tomorrow's scene?" There, he said it.

He saw her eyes gouge out. And maybe it was the kitchen light, but her cheeks looked flushed to him. "You mean the scene of the...?"

"Yes, that one," he cut her short and waited.

"Not at all!", she burst in. She seemed incredibly happy like she understood something he didn't. "No, not at all, I'm perfectly calm!"

Why did Michimiya seem to reassure him when what she was telling him wasn't reassuring at all? Why the more she told him that she was quiet about kissing Asahi in the next day's scene, the more his guts twitched?  
"Yes... no... what I wanted to know..."

"Michimiya-san," Ennoshita's voice fell right in the middle of his ridiculous attempt to ask her... ask her what, then?  
"Michimiya-san, sorry to disturb you. Do you have half an hour? I was reviewing tomorrow's script and there are a couple of things I'd like to change. I’d like to talk to you about them before you memorize them."

Michimiya turned to him, disoriented.

"Go ahead," Daichi reassured her with one of those smiles he was used to as a captain. "I can go on here."

"Yes, but..."

Daichi didn't know whether to be grateful or angry with Ennoshita. He did his duty, and he did it with passion. That was admirable. And yet...

"It won't take long, really", Ennoshita apologized again. He then greeted Daichi with a short bow and made way for Michimiya outside the kitchen.

"All right, then. We're here to make a movie, right?" Michimiya dried her hands on her jeans, rediscovering the grit that was natural for her.

"See you tomorrow, Sawamura!"

"See you tomorrow, Michimiya."

Alone by now, Daichi stood still for a few moments.  
The crickets' song came in through the ajar window.  
His eye fell on the plaid that later that night he and Michimiya should have been supposed to share under the stars.

***

  
If it weren't for the tornado that was going crazy inside him, more or less at the mouth of his stomach, Nishinoya would have enjoyed every moment of that last week of vacation.

The evening had long since fallen, but the air was warm and the crickets sang loudly.  
The house looked like a camp and none of them could have asked for better, with good peace of mind from Hinata's parents.

Nishinoya was returning at that moment after throwing the garbage into the trash cans at the entrance of the driveway.  
All the others were missing, those inside and those outside in the garden.  
Passing by the outside gallery of that big house full of sliding doors, Nishinoya saw Shoyo looking for fireflies (he exclaimed something like that they were even better than the stars) and Yachi all agitated for fear of having just eaten one by mistake.  
He then saw Chikara bent over a coffee table writing and rewriting what were probably lines; he was explaining to Michimiya in detail why her character did what she did. A genius, Chikara, nothing to say.

Nishinoya moved on. He was headed for the bathroom.  
One way or another at dinner, he had avoided Asahi. Not that he'd decided to, it just happened.  
Now he was feeling more tired than he should be. He needed to get some water on his skin and clear his head.

Suga had warned them that the third years had finished bathing in, and by an unwritten hierarchical law that faithfully followed the habits of their several training camps, it was finally their turn.

Nishinoya realized that he was totally overthinking when, on entering the tiny changing room before the bathroom, he collided with someone and lost his balance.

Two steady hands held him by his arms. Two hands that retracted immediately afterwards.

"Oh God, excuse me, Nishinoya! Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to hit you!"

Nishinoya looked up and it took a while to realize that he had gone to rub his nose against Asahi's chest.  
Asahi. With his wet hair loose on his shoulders and a towel tied at his waist.  
Nothing else.  
Apart from that embarrassed and insecure smile that made him, if possible, even more... More.

His brain went to mush, and the smartest thing Nishinoya could do was to burst out laughing in his face at a very unusual volume, give him a couple of mechanical pats - without lingering too long on the skin of Asahi’s shoulders - and babble something like, "I'm not hurt, Asahi-san! So our star is pretty clean!"

"Uh, yeah, yeah...", Asahi smiled politely, probably moved to pity by Nishinoya’s absurd behavior and completely out of control. "Anyway, uh, the bathroom's free."

"Of course, of course! Good night, Asahi-san!" By now his laugh was bordering on hysteria.

Asahi seemed undecided whether to leave or make sure Nishinoya was still breathing. Surely Nishinoya couldn't last much longer, he would soon have a blood clot.

Fortunately, Asahi finally decided to have mercy of him and shyly walked away.  
As he was out of his reach, Nishinoya suddenly deflated and found himself crouching on the tiles in the bathroom with his hands in his hair, devoured by frustration.

That’s when Tanaka came to the rescue. In his own way, of course. He emerged from around the corner and leaned out of the open bathroom door with an unrepentant smile and a raised eyebrow.  
"Is that how you've got everything under control?"

"Damn it, Ryuu! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"

"I think it was YOU who were workin’ on it!"

"Shut up!" he raised his eyes of fire. "Soooo…", he couldn't stop himself from biting his lip, "...did you hear everything?"

"Every word, sigh or idiocy out of your little mouth. That's right!"

"Aaahhh, Ryuu! Stop it, please! You're no help at all!"

"Where does it say I'm supposed to be?" Tanaka winked, with a good dose of smartass.

Nishinoya rubbed his face making noises of protest and dissatisfaction.

"Oh, come on, Noya!", Tanaka relented, "Since when have you been like this? This is Asahi-san we're talking about! I mean, he has been your teammate until yesterday and he'll be your teammate tomorrow, so I don't really feel like freaking out."

"Mmmm... it might be that you're right for once," mumbled Nishinoya. "Aaargh, though! What an idiotic figure!"

"Where's the problem? You ARE an idiot. I know it, and everybody knows it. So, get over it. Asahi-san knows it too. In any case, he didn't seem particularly upset by your behavior. He was too busy apologizing for almost smashing you against the wall with that mountain of muscles of his that should be illegal on a seventeen-year-old boy."

"Smash-...? Just because Asahi-san is a kind person doesn't mean that..."  
Words came out of his mouth, but his mind could only imagine 'all that mountain on illegal muscles’.

"What?"

"Ah, forget it!"

"Noya-san"

"What do you want?"

"Put your head under running cold water for as long as you need it."

Like it or not, the corners of Nishinoya’s lips rose up. "I will. Thank you, Ryuu."

"Then you'd better hurry up, because a lot of us still need the bathroom!"

The truth was that as he set foot in the bathroom, Nishinoya didn't understand anything anymore.  
The air was soaked with Asahi. The smell of his skin, of his shower gel.  
Nishinoya had never thought that he could recognize Asahi's scent. But he recognized it, and for the first time he realized it.  
He shuddered.

Nishinoya left shirt and shorts on the floor and got in the bath. It was still warm. He squinted his eyes.  
Asahi had been there, a few minutes earlier, soaking in the same water.  
Maybe he really needed an ice-cold jet of water on that head of his.  
He took his face in his hands.  
God, it wasn't the first time he'd shared a bathtub with Asahi and his teammates... but it all seemed different now.

He took a breath of air and let himself slide down until his head was completely submerged.

For a moment he didn't think of anything. He enjoyed the warmth of the water, he felt his muscles release.

Then he saw Asahi.  
She saw him before he even decided to think about him.  
He just saw him, with his tanned face and that genuine smile that gave him lovely little wrinkles around his eyes.  
With that low, vented laugh that gave Nishinoya goose bumps every time.

And then he saw Michimiya, so fresh and pretty. He also saw that Asahi was laughing with her. 

Nishinoya felt a twinge in his chest.  
He went up and sucked the air into his lungs.  
Fuck.  
He coughs and tries to calm his breathing.  
Fuck, fuck, fuck.  
Nishinoya had never seen Asahi smile at a girl like that before.  
That was the smile he reserved for people he was really comfortable with - which weren't many -, the smile Asahi reserved for Suga, even Daichi.  
And him.

He huffed and put his head on the edge of the pool.

In retrospect, it all made perfect sense. Every time he had asked Asahi to help him with his stretching and enjoyed the gentle touch of his hands against his back; every time he looked for Asahi on and off the field, to train together after hours or to bring him a little bottle of water and win Yachi over time, to take advantage of a victory point and jump on Asahi’s back.  
Asahi was always there, since he had memory. And when there was a risk that he'd leave, to hell with volleyball, he'd leave too. And he loved volleyball, damn it.

He realized that this thing had been going on a lot longer than he imagined. Perhaps from the very beginning, from the first match together, when, watching Asahi play, he had felt that sense of well-being for the first time, like the crackling of a fire spreading from his belly all over his body.  
Fuck.  
How many fucking lies had he told himself to deny such an obvious truth?  
Is it possible that seeing Asahi almost kissing a girl - even if fake - had made him feel like a ball thrown in the face? Is it possible that seeing him laugh - for real - with the same girl hurt him so much? What the hell was he supposed to do now?!

He got up quickly out of the tub and dried himself in bulk.  
He'd thought too much and he was a man of action, whatever it was.  
The solution would come, one way or another, and he wasn't the type to brood too much. Yeah!

In all the force he put opening the door, he tried to find his conviction. He also tried to put the same stubborn, indestructible Nishinoya Yuu back on his feet through all the volume with which he shouted, "The bath is free!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> Thanks so much to the ones that read to the end of this first chapter!  
> Maybe not everyone knows it: Furudate has created this wonderful subplot in which Ennoshita makes movies. O_O It’s canon!  
> I immediately noticed that among action movies, fantasy and blockbuster ones, a romantic comedy was missing in his repertoire!  
> And that's how this delirium came about. 
> 
> What do you think?  
> I promise the next chapters will be longer and much more INTERESTING... ;-)  
> What do you think about this prologue?
> 
> Also... I’m so sorry, English is not my first language. I previously wrote and posted this story in Italian. Some wonderful people told me this is a very good story and it deserves to be read by many more readers... Well, that’s why I TRIED to translate it from Italian into English. I hope you like it!  
> Amazing Tempuriio beta readed and edited it, suggesting corrections and all! I can't be more grateful for their precious help!
> 
> Important!  
> I initially thought of setting the story at the end of the summer after the defeat against Aoba Johsai. But for a number of plot-related issues, this story will instead take place after the victory against Shiratorizawa.  
> However, the time line will be staggered compared to the manga, so I ask you to pretend that the Karasuno VS Shiratorizawa match was actually played in the summer and not in October as per canon. In this way "Dirty volleyball" continues to be set at the end of the summer vacation.  
> Thank you for your understanding.


	2. ACTION! (What shall I do?!) – PART 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER:  
> Ennoshita involves the entire Karasuno volleyball team in shooting his new movie, a romantic comedy inspired to "Dirty Dancing". The main characters are Asahi and Michimiya; everyone have a role in the movie or within the staff.  
> The group moves to Hinata's house to shoot the film during a week of vacation. They start shooting; looking at the two protagonists while acting, Nishinoya has a revelation: he likes Asahi. At the same time Daichi begins to admit that he also has feelings for Michimiya.  
> They both come to terms with a completely new awareness, and some balances begin to change. Nishinoya decides not to think about it too much: after all, he is a man of action!  
> The week is only halfway through though, and the end of shooting is far away... Anything can still happen!
> 
> Enjoy!

Friday

Being a man of action is a big deal when you're facing an avalanche you can't stop.  
An even bigger deal when that avalanche is called “a kissing scene.”  
And you find yourself a sixteen years old libero, recruited by one of your best friends with director's ambitions, holding up a fucking reflector panel while the guy you like is about to kiss a damn pretty girl.  
And there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it.

It was the day after "the great revelation", as Ryuu had named it, and Nishinoya was restless.  
All of them were on the movie set from the early hours of the morning, it was almost noon, this and that… Nishinoya hadn't had time to think.  
They had to shoot an infinite number of what - from the authority of his sunglasses - Ennoshita called “connection scenes” and all of them had been busy with cables, sound system, lights and so on.  
Then he found himself holding that panel while everyone else was ready to shoot the fucking kissing scene.  
Asahi and Michimiya were in the same spot of the day before, next to Hinata's neighbor's car on the dirt road behind the house.  
Same creased T-shirt for him, same cute flower dress for her.  
A cruel deja-vu.

"Let's start over from where we left off yesterday! Asahi-san, you were here. And you, Michimiya-san, here. Go for the same pathos as yesterday, it was very good. We'll shoot the scene more closely. I'd like you to start from the last lines: ’I guess...’"

"’I guess we surprised everybody’?" Michimiya asked enlightened.

"Yes, from there! Until the end, including the kiss."

Nishinoya felt his stomach fold over and agonize.  
From where he was standing, he had a privileged view of every slightest movement of Asahi's face. A goddamn privileged view.  
For a moment Nishinoya waived the privilege, too intent on preventing his left leg from dancing out of control, and did not see Asahi casting a nervous glance in his direction.  
What he did not miss, lifting his eyes again, was when Asahi closed his eyes and breathed out, distractedly placing his hair behind his ear.  
Nishinoya tried not to wince, tried to distract himself with something else, anything, he really looked for it; but Asahi's concentration was already a captivating show in itself, and he was caught off guard when Kinoshita's "Ready!" arrived.  
From there it was a growing pounding of blood in his ears as Ennoshita's voice alternated imperiously with Narita's voice.

"Lights"

"Camera!"

"ACTION!"

At that point Nishinoya was ready to capitulate.

“’I guess we surprised everybody’”  
Michimiya's voice resounded hypnotical in the sudden silence, as if she was alone with Asahi and not with the microphone held by Kageyama high above her head, the camera zooming mercilessly, and everyone's eyes planted on her. Not forgetting the panel that he, Nishinoya, had been holding for an infinite time to reflect a beautiful light on her beautiful face.

“’ I guess we did.’” Asahi's voice sounded even sweeter than the day before. “’ Hardly would be sorry’”

Nishinoya didn't notice the step he absentmindly took towards him at the same time as Michimiya.

"’Neither will I’" she whispered in an incredibly sincere way. She looked at him gently. Then she closed her eyes when Asahi gently touched her cheek and...

Ka-thud!

"Cuuuut! There was a noise! Who was it?"

"Um... Ennoshita, sorry." Dark in the face, Daichi stepped forward. "This has gotten out of hand...", he excused himself and picked up a box containing some work equipment. "Excuse me, excuse me, everyone," he concluded by looking at Asahi and Michimiya.  
Nishinoya giggled at that unexpected moment of clumsiness on the captain's part and realized he had held his breath the whole time.

"Don't mind, don't mind! We'll turn it right back around. Everybody ready?"

"Ready!" was the chorus.

Oh, my God, was he ready?

"Lights!"

"Camera"

"Action!"

“’ I guess we surprised everybody’”

"’ I guess we did.’”  
Asahi just began to speak. It was enough for Nishinoya to find himself caught by Asahi’s voice again, like a moth to the light. That voice and the way Asahi moved his eyes... Insecure and determined at the same time. "’I guess we did. Hardly would be sorry’."  
Asahi's hands on Michimiya’s face felt like they were burning on his own face. (And that would have been enough of a sign that there was something wrong with him).

"’Neither will I’"

It was when Asahi just leaned forward and moistened his lips that Nishinoya's brain shut completely down.

"Oh fuck"

Encephalogram completely flat.

"CUUUUUT! Who said that?!"

Nishinoya bit the inside of his cheek and hoped not to be phosphorescent. Perhaps for the first time in his life he behaved like a coward: he did not come forward.

"Guys, come on! You already know you shouldn't make noise when we're shooting," Ennoshita complained with his headphones down.  
Nishinoya hoped that with a bit of luck he'd get away with it.

"The scene was very good anyway," Narita intervened, conciliatory, "Chikara, remember that we have yesterday's sound anyway. We can use that one without any problem."

"All right. Then let's wrap this up!"

"No kiss?", it was Suga, candid and cheeky as ever, who asked what everyone was wondering.

In the split second before the director's answer, Nishinoya turned towards Asahi. It was hard to decipher what was in his eyes. Relief? Disappointment? Maybe expectation?

"No, no, the kiss will be there. But we'll do it the good old-fashioned way. I have a feeling I won't be able to shoot this scene otherwise..."

"The, uh, 'good old-fashioned way'?" Asahi asked.

"Yes," sighed Ennoshita, to continue with renewed energy, "in a theatrical way. You'd be amazed at how many famous movie kisses are actually 'theatrical kisses', that is absolutely fake kisses. No realism, no lips against lips."

Chikara was a great professional, no question. But they were a bunch of inexperienced teenagers and all that talk about kisses and lips with that nonchalance caused more than a flush. Even to him.

"What do you mean?" Tanaka asked, not far away, giving voice to everyone's perplexity.

"Ah, it's so easy! It's playing with one's shoulders and hands on the other's face, so as to cover for the camera's (and the viewer's) eye what is a fake kiss, a kiss that is not given on the lips, but a little further away, perhaps on the chin or cheek, or even without even a touch, even an inch away from the other’s face. And then you work on it in the editing room," he concluded by congratulating himself.

Not that Nishinoya had understood much, but it would have been enough to hear him say 'fake kiss' one more time and he would have been completely convinced.

"Mmm... I don't think I've figured out how to do it...", Asahi shyly stepped in, putting his hands on Michimiya's face, moving it to one side with kindness, then to the other, and then withdrawing them again right afterwards.

Nishinoya nervously bit his lower lip.

Ennoshita took Asahi's place. "Wait, I'll show you."

At that statement, the captain kind of snapped on the spot. Or so it seemed to Nishinoya.  
Ennoshita must have noticed it too, because he stopped, and as if nothing had happened, he added: "To better show you that it is an undoubtedly fake kiss, I'll show with Tanaka".

"Wha...?"  
Poor Ryuu didn't have time to protest and found himself opening his eyes wide in the arms of Ennoshita, who 'kissed' him in a sort of very choreographic and very effective dip.  
Nishinoya couldn't stop himself: he spit out his own lungs so loud was his laugh. Everyone laughed and the tension faded.  
Everyone except Ryuu, who was standing, purple in the face, with the need to recover his aplomb.  
"Cut it out! It's no laughing matter! It was fake! It was all bloody fake as it was supposed to be! There wasn't an inch of my face touched by Ennoshita."

"In fact," continued the latter with an enviable phlegm, "I didn't even go near this punk's face," an enviable phlegm and a hint of sarcasm, "Yet you believed it. You all believed it was a real kiss, didn't you?"

"Well, yes", the first one to respond was Kageyama, who didn't seem to understand anything, "It seemed... real".

"See? Successful make-believe!", concluded the director, applauded by all of them.

"And documented by a video on my cell phone," Kinoshita winked quietly towards Tanaka, earning a kick in his shins.

"Well then!" Ennoshita called everyone to order. "It's all clear, can we shoot?"

"I think... I think so," Asahi smiled.

And Nishinoya thought it was the morning sun itself smiling.

"Ready!"

"Lights"

"Camera!"

"ACTION!"

Oh, God, now he's kissing her.

"’I guess we surprised everybody’," Michimiya began.

But it's a 'fake' -'fake' kiss! - Do you understand, Noya?

"’I guess we did. Hardly would be sorry’" continued Asahi.

A 'fake' kiss.

"’Neither will I’"

Asahi's big hands touched Michimiya’s face. Gently, as if her face was a soap bubble not to burst.  
He approached her and closed his eyes.

Nishinoya swallowed. Then… he didn't see anything.  
He couldn't, because Asahi put Ennoshita's teachings into practice and was able to cover her sight.  
And because the adrenaline clouded his vision.

Then Asahi broke away and the two actors looked at each other with glowing eyes, for what seemed like a damn long time to Nishinoya.

"CUUUUT! Perfect! Perfect!" announced Ennoshita.  
Everyone applauded.

Asahi released a sigh of relief.  
Michimiya leaned forward in a clumsy way and burst into a liberating laugh.

"Oh God, I was so anxious! I didn't know whether to move or stand still!"

"It's gone! Come on, it's gone! You did great, I was terrified too!"

"Go on, Azumane-san, you were so convincing! The same intense look you have on the court. So cool!"

Asahi blushed violently at Michimiya’s words, leaning towards her and whispering something that Nishinoya could not grasp. She leaned towards him too and whispered something back to him. For a moment one's forehead touched the other's, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And that gesture of great intimacy seemed unimportant to them as they kept laughing, relieved and... complicit.  
Yes, they looked bloody complicit. At ease.

Nishinoya felt the same feeling of frost in his chest and arms as when the opposing team was scoring, because he hadn't even seen the ball coming.

In the end, Asahi and Michimiya had not kissed, but looking at them at that moment made him feel the same helpless feeling of frost.

***

"'Fake', but pretty believable, huh?"

Daichi didn't hear Suga. He hadn't felt anything for a while since he had seen Asahi take Michimya's face and close the space between them.  
His head was buzzing like it was filled with cicadas. But maybe it was just because he was walking across the countryside in the sunshine.

"Daichi?"

"Excuse me?"

"No, I mean, the kiss."

"Ah, please, Suga, shut up!"  
He would have pinched the skin between his eyebrows, if only his hands were free. He was carrying some metal poles on one shoulder.

"Well, your face seems to confirm it: it was extremely believable."

"All right, all right, you win! I didn't like seeing them like that!"

"You mean our two stars?", Suga winked with an innocent little voice.

"Who else?" Daichi huffed; he didn't want to play along.

He cast a glance towards Michimiya, who walked further ahead with her friends. She was so pale in the sunlight.

They were all moving towards the lake, where Ennoshita was going to shoot some "mass scenes", scenes in which, as extras, they all had to pretend to be bathers on holiday.

Daichi walked by inertia. He really didn't feel like jumping in the water and laughing. He seemed the only one though. Even Takeda-sensei, who would play Michimiya's father in the scene, and who had joined them for about an hour, was having a cheerful conversation with Ennoshita and Shimizu as he walked through the tall grass.

"Come on, Daichi! Is it possible you never noticed? Michimiya's crazy about you."

Daichi stopped walking right there. Something in Suga's words told him that the speech had lost its teasing tone and had become inexplicably serious.  
He looked at him as if he had said heresy.

"You really never noticed?" added Suga.

The sun was burning on his neck skin, and Daichi started walking again, too confused to say anything.  
He started walking again in the hope of removing from himself that stupid shred of hope that Suga, who knows why, was holding out for him.

Suga reached him. "Haven't you ever seen the way Michimiya looks for you?"

"Suga, do you know what you're talking about?", he tried to giggle, "She maybe look for me, yes, but for volleyball or..."

"Yes, of course. And you confide in each other's. I mean, your weaknesses and fears. And you empower one another. Like, forever"

Daichi remained silent in front of his friend's eloquent gaze.  
He felt his cheeks turn red and a real smile draw on his lips in spite of his own will.

It was true.

"Isn't that so?" Suga urged him.

It was.

"But that doesn't count," he preferred to mumble in reply.

"Oh, come on, Daichi! It's so clear even from the way Michimiya says your name...!"

Sawamura.  
Daichi repeated himself mentally every time he heard Michimiya say it from.  
Sawamura.  
He always liked the way his name sounded in the girl's voice.

"What's that got to do with it? I've heard her say yours more than once," he mumbled stubbornly.

"Yes, but not with the same intensity that she pronounces yours," replied Suga, stubborn too.

Daichi looked at him. He really didn't understand what exactly Suga wanted to point out.

"Michimiya skipped school to come and cheer us on against Shiratorizawa," Suga challenged him, his big eyes firmly fixed on him.

"The other girls came, too." Boy, he was starting to crack up.

"All that matters is that she was there and she came to support-"

"She came to support the team."

Suga looked at him for a few moments.  
"What about the lucky charm she gave you?" he continued calmly. "Was it for the team, do you think?"

Daichi could not sustain beyond his gaze. "I do"

"Are you serious?!", Suga snapped, "Oh my God, are you really that oblivious?!"

Daichi sighed. Suga had moved in front of him and grabbed him by his shoulder. He seemed out of his mind.  
Daichi felt guilty. And looked up at him.  
"You think so?" asked in a thinner voice than he would have wished.

"I do," nodded Suga gravely.

They started walking again, and for a while they said nothing.  
Then all of a sudden, Daichi confessed the inconfessable, in one breath.  
"I like her."

"I know"  
Suga didn't get out of the way.

"A lot"

"I know"

"What...? If I myself don't...?", Daichi blushed.

"Hahaha! Let's just say I noticed it before you did!"  
Suga laughed openly and gave him a good-natured slap on the back of the neck, making him bend his neck forward.

"Hey...! Is that any way to treat your captain?"

"Welll… yes, indeed."

Daichi massaged the injured party absent-mindedly, without question.  
"What if it's not like that anymore?" he asked instead. "What if what you say is true... but what if she... Yes, what if she's changed her mind about me now? I mean, I've known Michimiya all my life. And it's always been so easy. I never thought that... Well, it was okay. But now... Suga, I feel like a fool and she's beautiful and Asahi's my friend... And he's a great guy..."

"A great guy that she doesn't like."

Daichi put his hand over his face, frustrated.  
"Who wouldn't like him? You know, he's a kindhearted cinnamon roll."

"You are too," Suga, slyly, provoked him.

Daichi didn't listen to him. "After the first moment that good-for-nothing giant scares the hell out of them, girls usually like Asahi..."

"Michimiya is not just 'a girl'"

"...and how could it be otherwise?" Daichi continued undaunted. 

"Well… it COULD be that she already likes someone else”, replied Suga, planting a finger on his sternum, with a look that didn't admit replication.

Daichi made a very unconvincing expression.  
"You've seen the way she looks at Asahi," he became saddened.

"Michimiya is a sunny and kind girl. And our Asahi is a teddy bear who puts people at their ease. Well, what's wrong with that? I look at him like that too."

Daichi seemed to think about that statement. Then he set off again. "See! How could he not -"

"Oh my God, Daichi, you're clearly a guy who knows everything about women, huh?!"

"Dai-saaaan", Tanaka's voice blocked Suga's impatient rebuke. "Dai-san! Those poles! Bring them this way, please!"

"Here I am!" he replied, composing himself instantly.

After a last glance at Suga, who frowned, Daichi walked away, while Ennoshita's voice was barely audible in the background.

"Well, boys! Get it all sorted out. In five minutes I want you all in your swimsuits to shoot the scene!"

Five minutes later they were all in their bathing suits, euphoric and ready to go into the water.  
Daichi was taking off his T-shirt when he heard Hinata running towards the lake, followed by Kageyama.

"Guys, I don't think this is the time to..."

"Guys! I don't think this is the time to make a fuss!", Ennoshita's imperious voice covered his attempt to film the two idiots of the first year, and Daichi almost had tears in his eyes. That was not his territory, but that of the "director", of course. He tightened his lips in a grimace of complacency. One thing he was sure of: Ennoshita would make a great captain.  
Daichi had finally regained a bit of a good mood.

It was at that moment that he heard Michimiya's laughter.

"Please, Mao, stop it!"

"I'm telling you, you look great. Stop talking nonsense!"

A delightful laugh, which like a trumpet blare announced her entrance. Then he saw her.

"Did you get a good look at them?!"

Michimiya.  
Wrapped in a blue bikini, while making wide gestures pointing at her legs. Michimiya and her fixation on having big legs.

"I mean! Have you looked at them? They're two-"

"Yui! If you try to say it's 'two logs' again, I'll drown you!", her friend warned her.

"Girls... please be careful not to splash water on the equipment...", Ennoshita warned them.  
For their part, Kinoshita and Tanaka were of little help, busy as they were picking up every detail of the girls and trying not to drop their jaw on the ground.  
Yes, Ennoshita definitely had got plenty to keep his calm.

Daichi felt a strong empathy and cleared his throat. "Need help, Ennoshita?"

"Thank you, Dai-san, yes. Suga-san?"

"Here I am!"

"Good. Please make sure everyone's in their spots with their feet in the water, but no more than half a leg, for now. Narita and I will set up the camera and the shot. With this blinding light, there will be no need for headlights or panels."

"Roger!" they both said in unison.  
And while Ennoshita took Narita aside to agree on how to film, Suga and Daichi gathered the others and made sure that everyone understood the director's request.

After a few minutes Ennoshita stepped forward and took a deep breath.

"Actors and extras! Come here, everyone!"

"Yes!" was the enthusiastic chorus of voices.

Several pairs of eyes stared anxiously at him.  
"So", the director began with a conciliatory tone (and Daichi recognized the same tone of most of his captain's speeches). "We're about to shoot the lake scene. It will be a scene without sound. That means that in the final result, you won't hear the noises or words you say, but there will be a song over the images.  
"Each of you will have to laugh and enjoy yourselves, BUT according to specific tasks that I will now give you. So... Michimiya-san!"

"Here I am!"

"You'll be sitting on this towel by the lake next to your father. Takeda-sensei, you'll be here reading this newspaper."

"Perfect!" replied the professor with great reverence for the role of Ennoshita.

"You will say something to your father, Michimiya, and then get up to join your friends. Aihara-san, Sasaki-san, you will be there playing with this volleyball."

"No problem," Aihara replied, taking possession of the said ball, while Sasaki smiled a little embarrassed.

"As for the others... Yamaguchi, Yachi-san!"

"Y-yeah," they both stood at attention, taken by surprise. Yamaguchi stepped forward and shyly approached Yachi, who had flushed cheeks, eyes fixed on Ennoshita and a light pink lifebuoy hanging around her hips.

"You two will swim over there, in the background of the shot. Go where the water's a little deeper, let's say about halfway down the torso."  
Yamaguchi was about to say something and Ennoshita ran right away.  
"Halfway through Yamaguchi's bust, to be precise."

"Roger!" Yachi said seriously.

"Hinata and Kageyama," continued Ennoshita, and the two guys in question vibrated with expectation next to each other, "I wish you two would do something slightly acrobatic..."

"Acrobatic?" Hinata's face lit up more than the sun at noon.

"Yes, Hinata... something like a jump from Kageyama's shoulders or, I don't know, his trampoline hands. I wish you'd end up with a nice, splash-filled dive. Something like that. Can it be done?" he first asked the red-haired boy who nodded forcefully, and then turned his attention to Kageyama, as if he were asking him a vital favor.

"Of course!" replied the latter, gratified by the confidence placed in him.

"Suga-san, Daichi-san, you can stand there chatting with the water that comes to your waist. That's good. Ah! Shimizu-san, Tsukishima! I know you play characters in the main story, but I'd like you to be extras here. Just stand on the edge of the frame, from the back. No one will recognise you, but you'll make a number."

"Sure," said Tsukishima while adjusting his glasses.

"Oh, and just so you don't do nothing, I'd like you, Tsukishima, to put some sunscreen on Shimizu-san's shoulders."

"It's no problem," replied the girl for both of them, with her face impassive as ever.

The one who didn't have an impassive face was Tanaka. "Wooohhhwww!! The sunscreen on Kyoko-saannn's shoulders! What do you mean?! All the luck to this little bastard!", he yelled, both punching Tsukishima and elbowing him in the ribs.

"I wish Noya-san was here! Chikaraaaaa!!!! Why not me?!"

Daichi only realized at that moment that not only Asahi, as the protagonist, had been exempted for that scene, but Nishinoya was also missing.

"I need you here, with Hisashi," the director replied in an unshakable voice, without even giving Tanaka a glance. "You're gonna throw this Frisbee to each other."

"Woooooooh!!! That's great! A Frisbee!!! You're lucky, Tanaka-senpai!!!", echoed Hinata, with the usual infectious enthusiasm.

"Hahaha! It's not for everyone, Hinata! It’s all in the wrist to properly handle a Frisbee!", Tanaka immediately posed, forgetting about the sunscreen and Kyoko-san.

"So, put yourselves in your own place. Yachi-san, I need you for a moment."

"Here I am!"

Ennoshita beckoned Narita to hand him the camera, and when everyone was in position, he in turn passed it to Yachi, who looked into the viewfinder, handling it with great professionalism.

"Can you confirm that the shot is aesthetically pleasing to look at? For photography, you know, I want the last word always to be yours."

Yachi blushed suddenly, she didn't take her eyes out of the camera, though, and answered focusedly: "I would move Tsukishima-kun and Shimizu-senpai more diagonally. They both have... Yes, they both have very fair complexions, and moving them creates a play of light and symmetry with the group of girls, where Michimiya-senpai stands out for her... what shall I call it? Her brightness!"

Brightness.  
Daichi, who had not escaped the considerations of the little manager, turned to look at Michimiya.  
There was no better word to describe her.

"Yes, absolutely, Yachi-san! As always, you can find ways to improve the framing!"

"My pleasure, director Ennoshita!" she said, carrying two fingers to her temple, as if in front of a commander, and then trotting towards her place, next to Yamaguchi, while the lifebuoy was hanging around her waist.

Ennoshita giggled with satisfaction, waiting for Narita to finish giving the final instructions to the extras.

"Then, when I say 'action', the sequence shot will begin. We'll start with a tight shot of father and daughter, which will then expand. I'll give the signal for Hinata's dive. Michimiya, you will join your friends. Aihara and Sasaki will pass the ball to each other a couple of times, then make a slightly longer toss to you, and you won't catch the ball, Michimiya. Please, be careful. I know it won't be easy for someone like you, who catch much harder balls… Try to make it believable, though! Thanks!" he apologised with a little bow. "Oh, and of course - that goes for everyone - don't look at the camera! Is that clear?"

"Yes!" they shouted in unison.

Yes, Daichi said to himself, who was trying to stay calm, couldn't keep his eyes off Michimiya for more than two seconds, and his temples exploded in the blazing sun.

Narita's voice betrayed him. "Lights! Camera!"

Followed by the director's one, of course. "Action!"

Suddenly there was a lot of laughter. Splashes of water everywhere.  
Michimiya said something to Takeda, who smiled and nodded at the girl. She got up from the towel and went into the water, joining the others, who invited her to join them. Ennoshita called out Hinata's name.  
Hinata was thrown into the air by Kageyama with a war cry and dived into the water doing a noisy somersault.  
Suga kept saying things to Daichi all the time that he was completely unable to hear; Daichi somehow managed to answer him without even knowing what. In any case, Suga continued to smile in a way that would have turned out to be really photogenic.

Then Aihara threw the ball far away from Michimiya. Maybe a little too far.  
And the ball came right in his direction.

Daichi didn't really know what to do.  
In real life, he would grab the ball and gently throw it back to the person who had lost it. But that wasn't real life, that was a movie, that problem hadn't been planned and Ennoshita hadn't given the stop signal.

He hesitated for a few seconds, but it was enough to be on Michimiya's trajectory, who was trying to catch the ball in a much clumsier way than she would have been able to in reality.  
In such a clumsy way, her foot ended up slipping – for real - on the muddy lake floor and Michimiya fell backwards.

Daichi read it in her eyes that there was no acting in that fall. He read it in those eyes of her that he knew so well (those eyes had never had any secrets for him - at least that's what she thought); for a moment Michimiya seemed genuinely surprised, aware that she was in a truer situation than expected.

That’s it. Michimiya slipped and fell backwards.

And she found herself in the arms of Daichi who was holding her in the water that reached under their shoulders.

For a moment they looked at each other, both surprised, without saying anything.  
Oh boy. Michimiya's body was hot against his, even under the water.  
Her cinnamon-colored eyes were huge as she looked up at him from below, in the reclining position where he had stopped her.

"Keep going! Whatever you're doing, keep going, it's good!"

Daichi heard Ennoshita's voice in the distance.

Keep going what?! No, he couldn't go on.  
Sooner or later Ennoshita would stop.

"Are you hurt?" he really asked her, instead.  
He didn't know why, but still his own arms were holding her tight, still his own hands lingered on the wet skin of her shoulders.  
Surely that impudent Suga, who was giggling not far away, knew the right answer to those questions.

"Geez, I'm really clumsy!" Michimiya shielded herself, pulling herself away from him and bursting into laughter.  
Her cheeks were pink, Daichi noticed, perhaps from running in the water, perhaps from falling, or laughing.

"You have to be careful," Daichi smiled at her, catching the ball for her. "You'll hurt yourself."

"Come on! Don't make that worried face!" Michimiya replied, giving him a punch to the chest.

"Ouch!" With too much force, as always.

Then she ran away, jumping in the water until she reached the others who looked at her with indecipherable eyes.

"CUT!"

Finally.  
Finally, the scene had stopped.  
Was Ennoshita really going to keep it the way it was?!

"We're keeping it! It was very good! You can perfectly see the clumsiness of Baby's character at the beginning of our story and that's exactly what we were looking for! Very good, guys, very good improvisation. We'll shoot it just one more time, just in case. Try to do the same thing again."

They both nodded, but neither of them said anything or looked at the other, Daichi noticed. And he startled when he felt Suga's hand on his shoulder.  
"Apparently, the facts took an unexpected turn..."  
Daichi blushed. He didn't know how to respond. Suga was so kind as not to rub it in.

While Ennoshita was explain something to some of them, Daichi finally raised his eyes to Michimiya. She did the same at the same time. And the two of them crossed their eyes.  
Suddenly caught, Daichi smiled at her, and she, with one shoulder strap of her bikini down and her hair a complete mess, gave him a thumbs up, to which he could not help but reciprocate.

It was nice, their relationship, nothing to say.  
He never asked for more.  
They definitely had a good relationship. A quiet relationship, as friends. A relationship built up over years, experience after experience. They had grown up together, and they have built up a confidence that allowed them to communicate in a... physical way.  
There was nothing strange if she punched him in the chest or if he caressed her head to console her from a defeat. In fact, it had always been all natural, no malice.

He puffed, almost amused by how pathetic he felt at that moment.

Paradoxically, their relationship was too physical. They behaved like friends, yes, because they were, but almost as if they were… two boys.

With Asahi, Michimiya was different.  
Daichi had taken careful note of that during those last few hours. She also seemed to have a certain confidence with him, she seemed to feel at ease, but in a more composed, more feminine way.  
Not that he disliked the tomboy side of Michimiya, on the contrary. It was one of the things Daichi liked most about her: that sincere, unadulterated side that Michimiya had outside the volleyball court. On the volleyball court she concentrated suddenly and her presence became intense, sharp. Outside, she was an adorable, clumsy tomboy.

Yet, seeing her smile at Asahi, approach him, whisper something in his ear... well, he had to admit it was annoying. With Asahi, she was different from what she was with him, it was a fact.

And if Suga was right and Michimiya was looking at Asahi the way you look at "a teddy bear," Daichi hadn't missed the way Asahi looked at Michimiya.  
Sincere affection, no embarrassment...  
From a guy like Asahi who was also afraid of his own shadow, that meant something.  
Asahi was his friend. He'd known him for almost three years, and had never seen him in love. When some girl, after realizing that he was not the criminal that everyone believed, had come forward and declared herself to him, he had always declined with great kindness and shame.  
Was it possible that this time he really liked...?

“Lights!”

Oh, God. Daichi inhaled and tried desperately to concentrate.

"Camera!"

The same scene as before had to be repeated, nothing more, the scene where... man... where Michimiya fell on him.

"Action!"

Around him, the same "machine" started up again.  
Of course everyone was in their place, ready to get up, to spread, to dive or to throw a Frisbee.  
Of course.

Daichi didn't hear or understand anything until the incriminating ball was thrown, not far from him.

That's it.

Michimiya dived in to catch the ball.

To tell the truth, daichi was only able to imagine the fresh skin of her, and his own rough hands touching it, soon. Nothing else.  
Knowing in advance what was about to happen clouded his vision and violently accelerated his heartbeat.

Michimiya looked at him confused.  
He reached out his arms.  
She stumbled.

As he took her, Daichi felt enveloped by the flames and not by the fresh water of the lake.  
The gesture was a little more exaggerated than he would have liked, and the grip a little stronger.  
He found Michimiya's face against his neck and a shiver broke his breath.

"Are you... are you okay?"

"Y-Yes!", Michimiya pulled up quickly, coughing from drinking some water. "Sorry, I fell again... for real, I mean!" She laughed, approaching him, aware that there would be no sound in the scene and it didn't matter what they said.

"You're going to kill yourself!", he laughed.

"I'm really the most clumsy girl in the world!" she added, her hand over her face, her eyes narrowed in a smile that would have been reductive to call blinding.  
And then she slapped him on the back. "I'm not hurt, don’t worry!" And she ran away without giving him time to answer.

"CUUUT! Good! Very good! That's good enough for me!", Ennoshita declared, arousing a collective applause.  
"I'd like to get a close-up of her father reading the newspaper - if it's okay with you, Takeda-sensei - and a close-up shot of Hinata's dive. Then we can go to dinner!"

While everyone shouted their “Yes!” with all their lungs, Daichi came out of the water.

‘Crazy about him.’ Suga was so wrong. It was obvious that he had misunderstood Michimiya's confidence in him for something more.

Daichi picked up the rolled up T-shirt and used it to dry his face.

Yet he liked that ‘physical’ relationship. Yes, he liked it.  
And the problem was that he felt selfish.  
Because, apparently, it wasn't enough anymore.

***

Nishinoya was wandering between the garden and the kitchen, and between the kitchen and the room that had been used as the men's dormitory.  
He looked around without knowing what to do. The futons were piled on top of each other.  
He was biting the stick of the last Garigari-kun stolen from Hinata's freezer.

He was alone. Just him and the deafening sound of cicadas.

He had vanished - silent as a ninja - just as the chaos had begun.  
Ennoshita had announced the mass movement of the set, everyone had made a big fuss, and Nishinoya thought they could do without him for once.  
After all, he didn't often feel this way: with his stomach upside down and without any desire to hear screams and laughter.  
It was absurd to even think that, of course. For once, the world could look the other way, if Nishinoya Yuu hadn't been at the top for half a day.

He fell backwards on the tatami and huffed. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to stay there alone, at the risk of asking more questions and melting his brain looking for the answers.

"N-Nishinoya?"

He would have recognized that voice among millions.

"Asahi-san?"

Nishinoya sat up.  
What the hell was Asahi doing there? How could he not hear him coming?

"I was sure I'd find you here."  
Asahi released what seemed like a sigh of relief. Or was it a giggle without sound? "Yes, I mean, since you didn't go with the others."

His heart warmed up instantly. So Asahi noticed?

"Maybe I'm disturbing you... and you wanted to take a nap... I’d better go..."

"No!"  
He yelled it at him?!  
"N-no, Asahi-san, stay," Nishinoya repeated, quieter.

"Yes, of course." Asahi's voice seemed to be quiet too.

"You didn't go with the others either," Nishinoya added, and it came out like it wasn't a question. He looked at him with big eyes. He just looked at him.

Asahi had to be a bit frightened, because he swallowed. "Well, no," he smiled, and that smile pierced Nishinoya, sharp and swift like a treacherous arrow through his chest.

"Were... were you looking for me?" Nishinoya asked, trying to stay calm.

"Well, yes, no... I mean, Michimiya..."

"Michimiya? What about Michimiya? Were you looking for her?"

"No! I mean, yeah, but she's at the lake shooting... and I didn't have anything to do, so it was pointless to go and... Yeah, I mean... Noya, would you like to help me memorize this scene?"

Nishinoya only saw the rolled-up script that Asahi was tormenting in his hands.

"Ah"

Asahi looked at him waiting for an answer. He seemed agitated. Well, Asahi was always agitated.

Nishinoya relaxed.  
"Yes, of course!"  
He even winked at him and was pleased to be able to do something that sounded like him.

Asahi's relaxed too, a bit, and his shoulders tension realeased.  
"Can I... can I sit next to you?"

Nishinoya suddenly felt the desire to jump up and hold him in his arms with all his strength.  
Not because he liked him (of course he liked him!), but because the boy standing in front of him was Asahi. He was the same Asahi as ever. Things between them would never change.  
That realization invested Nishinoya with the same euphoria that he felt on the court when he took a reckless dive and managed to catch an uncatchable ball.

He realized he was still looking at him without saying anything and Asahi - the same Asahi as always - moved his weight from one foot to the other, waiting.

Nishinoya thought no further: with the palm of his hand he tapped the tatami next to him and smiled convinced, affirmative, slightly exhilarated.

Asahi sat down and Nishinoya immediately felt the warmth emanating from him.

"What is it?" he asked to say something, and his voice came out more clumsy than he would have liked.

"Well..." Asahi replied, laying the script crumpled to the ground in front of them. "Will you help me with my memory?"

"You mean...", said Nishinoya as he distractedly pulled the blond tuft on his forehead and peeked at the text, "...should I read Baby's lines?", he concluded with a questioning and vaguely ironic look at him.

Asahi giggled as if to apologize. "Well, yes."  
Nishinoya saw Asahi’s cheeks turning a bit darker. "If you don't mind"

"Not at all! Let's get started. Anyway... It says here that (3) 'It's evening and Baby's knocking at the door of Johnny's bungalowo…"

"Bungalow"

"Bungalou?"

"It's English," muttered Asahi, looking at him with embarrassed eyes.

Oh, God. It was clear that the same Asahi as ever was already regretting having pointed out that mistake to him. Surely he was shitting his pants in fear of having offended him.  
(So cute!)

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Exactly.

"Cut it out, Asahi-san!" he laughed at him with a slap on Asahi’s side, then continued, "All right, smart-ass thirs year..."

"I'm not a smart-ass at all, you know..." Asahi shielded himself.

"'Bungalow!'"  
They laughed.  
"I go on?"

"Yes, please, Nishinoya"

"Ok, then... Soooo…. 'Baby's knocking at the door of Johnny's BUNGALOW where you can hear music coming from. Johnny probably put on a record. It's hot and when Johnny opens the door...'"  
Nishinoya barely dilated his pupils. In a split second he moved his eyes towards Asahi and back on the script caption. He swallowed.  
"'... he's shirtless."  
He coughs to recover. He could make it. "So... Can I come in?"

Asahi burst out laughing. He literally laughed in his face.  
What the hell did he do to...?

"No way, Noya! You can use your voice! Your voice is fine! You don't need to imitate a girl's voice."

Nishinoya felt his face flush.  
Ah, that's it.  
He'd worked hard to make that damn dialogue believable, he had to play that stupid Baby, and Asahi...  
"Listen, you... I thought that..."

"Yes, yes, and thank you! As always you give the best of you, Noya. But your voice is beautiful like this! I mean..."  
Asahi immediately withdrew, but Nishinoya didn't notice, red in the face even more than Asahi. And not out of anger or humiliation.  
"...it's all right as it is. There's no need for you to make different, uh... voices."

"Okay."  
Nishinoya puffed out some air and Asahi settled down better.  
"Let's start over. ‘Can I come in?’"

"I got a-- I guess it's not a great room. You probably got a great room..’"  
Asahi got serious right away, more focused.

And now he was watching Nishinoya.

Oh, yeah! It was his turn again.  
"’ No. It's a great room!’"  
Nishinoya looked around distractedly. (It was really nice there, indeed. The room where he was sitting alone with Asahi).  
"-Johnny approaches the record player to turn it off.- Ah, I'm talking again! ‘Leave it on. I'm sorry about the way my father treated you.’ Why, how did Baby’s father treat Johnny?" came out Nishinoya, frankly curious.

"Pardon?" Asahi made a funny face and Nishinoya held back a giggle.  
His eyes were big and disoriented.

"No, I mean, what happened between her father and Johnny, I mean, yes, between him and you?" Nishinoya insisted, tapping his finger on Asahi’s sternum.

Asahi made a choked noise that turned into a hushed laugh.  
A so beautiful sound in Nishinoya's ears.

"Well, Baby's daddy, who is Takeda-sensei, is a doctor, and has just treated the wounds that Johnny's partner Penny got from falling down the stairs."

"Kyoko-san!"

"Exactly. Well, she didn't want to go to the hospital because the young master of the resort..."

"Tsukki!"

"Yes... he told her she couldn't miss a day of work. And Baby's father accused Johnny."

"Aaaah! Got it!"  
Finally Nishinoya was putting the pieces together.  
In fact, the scene in which Takeda- sensei yelled at Asahi -so Johnny- had been already shot...

"Nishinoya, haven't you read the script?"

He shook his head, shamelessly.

Asahi ran his hand through his hair. A few locks of hair escaped from the elastic band.  
"Ha ha! If Ennoshita knew...!"

"Ah, come on, Asahi-san! What if I did? I'm the guy who improvises!"

"I know that!"

Asahi's smiling face was really pretty... Well, it was nice even when he was focused... And come to think of it, even when he was scared about something...

"We're talking about Ennoshita..." Luckily Asahi blocked the flow of those absurd thoughts, otherwise who knows where the hell they would have taken him.

Nishinoya decided to relaunch. "Asahi-san?"

"Hmm?"

"You're not afraid of Ennoshita, are you?"

"Well!... Sometimes..." Asahi began to flounder and Nishinoya sneered. "Sometimes he seems even scarier than Daichi..."

"Hahaha! You're incorrigible, Asahi-san! So Chikara scares you too?!"

Asahi blushed violently. “Again: Ennoshita can be very scary."

"Yes, yes, nothing to say, he is! But..."

"He'll be a great captain when the three of us are gone."

The suddenly calm tone of Asahi’s voice together with his slightly sad smile hurt Nishinoya above everything else. That and the realization that they would still only have a few more months; a few months of exhausting training before and after classes, a few months to play side by side behind the same net.  
And a few months of little stolen moments: Asahi who, on the way home, shivered as Nishinoya made a Garigari-kun disappear in two bites, the chatter leaning against the wall of the gym, the Ace’s back on which Nishinoya jumped to exult at full blast.  
A few months.  
Then the third year boys would be gone. Asahi would leave.

"Yeah...", was only able to say Nishinoya.

"Let’s go on. Shall we?" Asahi asked after a moment of silence.

Nishinoya looked at him. He was there, with Asahi. He would think about all of this later.

"Yes!"

"Great" Asahi's gaze was warm. Nishinoya felt warmed by his look like it was a hug. "From the last line, ok?"

"Yes, of course! So... ‘I'm sorry about the way my father treated you.’"

"’No, your father was great!’"  
Even his voice had gotten warm. Asahi picked the scripts up from the tatami, where, curved on it, Nishinoya held it still.  
Asahi's hands were warm, too. For a moment, they touched his. They were burning.   
"’ He was great. The way he took care of Penny.’"

Nishinoya moved a little further to Asahi and leaned to read the script that was now in Asahi’s hands.  
They were close.  
"’ I mean the way he was with you. It's really me it has to do with’" he said. To tell the truth, he couldn't think of what he was saying.  
They were too close.  
Asahi looked at him with intense eyes. Nishinoya couldn't look away.  
So damn close.  
Oh, fuck, it was his turn again! "’ Johnny, I came here because my father--’"

"’ No. The way he saved her… I could never do anything like that. That was something. People treat me like I'm nothing because I am nothing.’"

A shiver ran down Nishinoya's spine. Together with those words he recognized the same wounded and angry look that Asahi had when he gave up on fighting against the iron wall of the Dateko. When he gave up on the team. And even on himself...

"’No, that's not true!’" The high volume that came out of his mouth surprised him too. It was a line. Just a line. But still… "’You are everything!’" Nishinoya went on and his hands moved on their own, grabbing Asahi by the shoulders, his own eyes searched for Asahi’s eyes.  
Asahi was looking at him with baited breath. His face seems flushed and his ears were red. He was gasping.

"I'm sorry!"

"What?", Nishinoya said, letting go.

"I've... I've got a blank!", Asahi struggled to explain, going back to the script and hiding his face in his hair, which had become irreparably messy.

"N-no!", Nishinoya also completely withdrew, "Oh my God, sorry, I got a little carried away!"

"No, no! You did great."  
It was Asahi who put his hand on Nishinoya’s shoulder this time. A big, heavy hand on his shoulder. A protective, encouraging hand.  
After a moment he retired as if burned, though.  
"Well, yes, you're always so good at everything..." he giggled. He seemed anything but amused, though. "Um... Shall we pick up from wher we left off, all right?"

Nishinoya looked at him with little conviction. Why was Asahi getting so nervous?  
"Sure... I guess you don't know this one, huh?"

"Huh?"

"You haven't memorized it! That's right, isn't it? Why else you forgot it?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, you got me!"

"Come on, read it and then repeat it."

"Yes. So..." Asahi read the line with his eyes a couple of times.  
It seemed no different from one of those same games that Asahi used to play to calm himself down before entering the court.  
Then Asahi closed his eyes. He raised his head. He opened his eyes again. In the end, he looked at him.  
Well, Nishinoya gasped. Asahi was ready, and such confidence took his breath away for a moment.

Then Asahi started, out loud, "’ You don't understand the way it is for somebody like me. Last month I'm eating candy to stay alive. This month, women are stuffing diamonds in my pockets.’"

A confidence that vanished as fast as a popsicle in Nishinoya's hands.

"’Women,’ Asahi, it's not difficult. ‘Women are stuffing diamonds in my pockets.’"

"It's not difficult, but it's a little embarrassing."

"One of them is big sis Saeko! Not bad, right?"

"Oh, Nishinoya, please!", Asahi blushed, "She's much older than me!"

"Come on, it's all make-believe!", said Nishinoya, imitating Ennoshita, and Asahi relaxed a little. "Try again!"

"Yes. Here. So. ‘Women are stuffing diamonds in my pockets.’"

"Bravo"

"’ I'm balancing on… on… on…’"

"On...? What are you balancing on?"  
Nishinoya peeked at the script trying to figure out why Asahi had got stuck and started stuttering. He started laughing. "Asahi-san! You are balancing ‘on shit!’ Hahaha! You really can't say it? Easy: ‘I'm balancing on shit’"

"Noya, please! Stop saying that!"

"What's so hard about that?! That's not even such a dirty word. ‘Shit.’ There's a lot worse than that."

"Oh, please! They're not all like you who swear and look cool!"

"Hahaha! Asahi-san! Do I look cool to you?" Nishinoya winked.

"Well, that's obvious. You ARE cool," Asahi mumbled to the edge of an heart attack, "Ask anyone. It's one of life's, uh, yes, one of life's few certainties. Nishinoya Yuu IS cool. Well... the point is, if I say a word like that, I'll never take off the label of 'thug’ again! And there will even be a movie to prove it! Then I'll..."

"Oh, the hell with it! Who cares? The people who matter know. You know it and I know it. I mean, that you're the nicest, kindest guy in the world."  
Asahi stared at him like Nishinoya spoke English with perfect British pronunciation.  
"...and... and... and even the biggest wimp!", Nishinoya hastened to add, with thirty-two teeth on display.

"Nishinoya!"

"Come on! What’s the big deal?"

"All right! Then..." Asahi breathed in and threw it all out: "’ I'm balancing on shit and I can be down there again!’"

Wow. "See how cool you are too?"  
He couldn't resist the temptation. To make fun of him, of course.  
But he really was. Cool and damn good-looking.

"Oh, Noya, please..."

"Ha ha ha! All right, all right, I'll stop it! Let's start over a little earlier. Do you feel up to it, you movie-documented thug?"

Like it or not, Asahi had a laugh. "...Yes"

"Fine!"

"I can do it!"

"You can say that!"

"’Last month I'm eating candy to stay alive. This month, women are stuffing diamonds in my pockets. I'm balancing on shit and I can be down there again!’"

"’No, it's not the way it is!’" Nishinoya answered him.  
Asahi was very close to him. And he didn't even look down at the script anymore. It must have been for memory, yes. Because Asahi had an iron memory... Sure, that's why he didn't take his eyes off him, because he didn't need to read the script.  
"’It doesn't have to be that way!’" continued Nishinoya, who struggled to move his eyes from the line to Asahi's face and the next line. Like some tight tosses. Because he didn't want to miss a single millisecond of Asahi’s reaction. "’No way!’" he said again.

Asahi had the next line.

Nishinoya stayed on him, waiting, a few moments that seemed like an eternity.  
Asahi didn't stop looking at him for a moment. And it was as if he was really looking at him, as if the two of them were really talking and not two stupid characters in a stupid romantic comedy.

In the end, Asahi talked. "’I've never known anyone like you.’"  
Why Asahi was looking so damn straight into his eyes?  
"’You think you can make the world better!’" continued Asahi, moving his eyes over him, his face, his chest, even up his hair. "’Somebody's lost, you find them. Somebody's bleeding--’"  
Nishinoya felt his head turn, he felt that every inch of himself was touched by that look, in a convulsive and gentle way at the same time. He felt himself being hunted.

It was his turn to speak: "’ I go get my daddy. That's really brave, like you said.’"

"’That took a lot of guts to go to him!’" said Asahi, gripping absentmindly Nishinoya’s arm. Asahi came closer and Nishinoya thought that, yeah, it took a lot of guts indeed to deal with what he was feeling at the moment. "’You're not scared of anything’,” continued Asahi.

"’Me? I'm scared of everything!’" His eyes ran to the end of the page, and Nishinoya read in one breath those two words: 'They kiss'.  
At the end of the dialogue they had to kiss.  
He didn't have time to think about it. His brain shorted out.  
‘They kissed.’  
And he kept talking: "’…Of everything! I'm scared of what I saw. I'm scared of what I did, who I am...’" A reddish light lapped the lines of Asahi's face, in the twilight that entered the room. Nishinoya's eyes fell on his lips, a few millimeters from him, swollen, bitten. And he stopped breathing. "’... I'm scared of walking out of here and...’" He felt his heart go racing down his throat, his temples buzzing.  
‘They kiss.’  
His hands grabbed Asahi's shirt on his chest without thinking about it. "’... and never feeling for the rest of my life… the way I feel when I'm with you…’"

"Asahi-saaan!!!! Noya-saaan!!!!!" Hinata's joyful voice poured over them like a bucket of cold water. "We're back and now we're having dinner!!! Where are you?"

Nishinoya saw Asahi suddenly open his eyes. (When did he close them?) He felt the blood pumping furiously. He held back his hands and felt like exploding.  
(‘They kissed’). He saw Asahi's chest rise and fall quickly. (Hinata's voice must have scared him.) He heard the house filling up outside that room. And he couldn't put half a word together.

"Ah! There you are! Why didn't you guys come?! The lake was wonderful!"

As the sliding door opened wide, Hinata saw Asahi confusingly put together the pages of what looked like a script and Nishinoya hopping on the spot across the room and giggling nervously.

"Ha ha ha Shoyo! Looks like you guys had a good time, huh?"

They looked flushed. The day had been sultry, in fact. But he'd been pleasantly soaking the whole time. How wonderful.  
"Yeah, it was beautiful! It’s a bit late, though, and now Dai-san has homework for everyone. He says. Let's do it! Are you coming?"

"O-of course!" replied Asahi with a louder volume than he should.

"Here I am!" shouted Nishinoya at the same time.

Hinata trotted proudly out of the room as the two senpai followed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> This second chapter has become much longer than expected, so I thought of dividing it into two parts. Let me know what you think!  
> In any case, the second part (where it will happen so much more... ;-)) shouldn't take long to be posted! A week at the most. And there will also be a scene between Hinata, Kageyama and Yachi! So let me know what you think about it! Kudos and comments will make me so happy and repay me for the effort and time spent writing!  
> Again, thanks for passing by. It means a lot to me.  
> English is not my first language. If some of you speaks English and would like to edit/beta read this story is super welcome!
> 
> In the next chapter:  
> Nishinoya reached out his hand and freezed.  
> An abandoned, heavy arm held him against the futon.  
> He slowly turned his head to his left and at a breath away from his face, he saw him: Asahi.  
> Well, Asahi's arm. Yes… No…   
> Asahi sleeping a breath away from his own face, lips ajar, regular breathing.  
> Fuck.


	3. ACTION! (What shall I do?!) – PART 2

Friday night

"Hinata!!!"

Asahi and Nishinoya senpai were still following him in the kitchen, when Yachi's agitated voice reached his ears, just a moment before they bumped into her.  
Hinata reached out his hands, grabbed her by the shoulders, and prevented her from falling backwards; Yachi didn't notice anything, though, and kept on panicking.

"Hinata! Good thing I found you!"

Hinata turned to Asahi and Nishinoya, both strangely silent since he had found them.  
At that moment, Asahi seemed to realize at once, "Go ahead, Hinata. We'll take it from here."

Tanaka also entered the kitchen, and he rushed into Nishinoya, putting his arm around his neck. "Noyassaaaan! You have no idea what you missed!!! Kyoko-san in swimsuit!!!! And sunscreen, and..."

Hinata had no time to waste. Yachi kept tugging at him over a flap of his t-shirt: well, that was his house, it was his duty to solve her problem - whatever it was - as soon as possible.  
He simply nodded seriously in the direction of the senpais, gave them his back, and followed Yachi into the hallway.

"What's going on, Yachi-san?"

"A disaster! I was told there are paper plates and cups in the pantry, but I can't find them! What if they're not there? What if … ? There's a lot of us tonight having dinner and not enough regular plates for everyone and then we'll have to..."

"Don't worry", Hinata blocked her in her catastrophic train of thoughts, and winked at her. "I know where they are"

Yachi immediately calmed down and he felt happy that he was the cause of her calm.  
He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back towards the pantry.

She probably knew exactly where the pantry was. But he liked that slight warmth that Yachi gave off. A warmth that tasted like anxiety and vanilla.  
He liked to be near her, if there was a chance. Always did. He liked to hold her hand. What was wrong with that?

They came to the pantry and he left her arm.

"See? They are nowhere," Yachi murmured, mortified.

"No, look! They're up there!", Hinata cheered her up, pointing to a box on the last shelf of a large iron rack, on which were piled packages, preserves, bottles and tupperwares of all kinds.

Yachi lit it all up. "Thank goodness!"

Then Hinata tried it once, twice, three times. Nothing. The shelf was too high, and in the small space of the pantry it was impossible to take the right run to jump.  
He frowned, determined not to be crushed by the limits of his height even in such a situation.

"Perhaps we could call..." Yachi dared.

"Found it!" he shut her up with the force of his own enthusiasm. "You're going to help me!" he said, then, addressing her with one of those smiles that it was impossible to say no to.

"How...?"

"Come, Yachi-san. Climb on my shoulders," he offered by kneeling at her feet.

Yachi suddenly turned red. Hesitating, she did as he told her.  
When Hinata stood up, she was sitting on the back of his neck, like a little girl on her dad’s shoulder.  
Hinata couldn't see her, but she flushed.  
That night Yachi was wearing white denim shorts. He put his hands on her bare knees to hold her better so she wouldn't fall. Her knees were fresh and slightly rough. He would have liked to run his thumb over them a couple of times to enjoy that delicious feeling, but he held back. There was nothing wrong with that, of course, but he held back.  
He actually straightened up to get Yachi to take the box.

"Do you get it?"

"Nnngh! Not yet!..."

He felt her stretch upwards, above him. Who the hell put that box there? Certainly some unbearable tall guy. Like Tsukishima.

"Try again!" he encouraged her, tiptoeing.

They were both stretching their muscles over the edge when Hinata suddenly felt his shoulders lighten.

"Wha...?"

"You're such an idiot."

That it was Kageyama, he knew long before he turned around.  
When he turned around, he saw him holding Yachi up, after taking her under her armpits.

"On the shoulders of someone like you, Yachi-san can never reach that box," he added as if it were obvious.  
Yachi was red in the face, and Hinata felt his own cheeks explode, too, annoyed.

"Hey, you..."

"You get it?" Kageyama interrupted him, addressing the girl.

"A little more, Kageyama-kun," she answered, focused, as her fingertips began to touch the edges of the box. "There, I'm almost there..."

It was a flash, and at the same time it was like slow motion.  
One moment Yachi was leaning toward the box, the next moment the box collapsed off the shelf and Kageyama grabbed it by instinct.  
Only in doing so, he let go Yachi.  
And if one moment Yachi was suspended in the air, the next moment she was in Hinata's arms, who was lying on his back against the floor.  
And that's because Hinata had jumped to catch Yachi on the fly and now he was literally acting as her pillow.  
A little bruised, they realized just then what had happened, and they sat down.

"Yachi-san! Are you hurt?" Hinata shouted.

"N-no... I don't think so. Thank you Hinata-kun, I'll-"

"Yachi-saaaan!!!", Kageyama's shout overcame any attempt to thank or whatever. "Forgive me! Forgive me! Please! I've been a real idiot!" And he almost broke his back in two, so deep was his bow.

Hinata was so mad he couldn’t even see straight. He took off on his feet. "You took the words out of my mouth!"  
Kageyama remained bent in his bow.  
"What if I hadn't saved her?! Huh? What would you have done, huh?", he growled.

"Guys, please, you don't need to..."

Yachi was interrupted by an indistinct mumbling that gradually took shape in Kageyama's voice. "Anyway… N...Nice...Nice receive..."

Yachi opened her eyes wide: "It's true, Hinata! That was your best receive ever!!!"

Hinata helped Yachi to get up, his eyes planted on his court partner, anger replaced by euphoria in an instant.  
"Woooh! Are you serious, Kageyama?! A very nice receive, wasn't it? Do you think it was the best receive ever, too?"

Kageyama, dark in the face, simply stood up straight, picked up the box full of paper plates and cups and left the pantry.

Hinata and Yachi went after him, the first one insisting on Kageyama, the second one smiling, relieved.

***

On the whim of who knows what absurd gods, they had found themselves together.  
Alone.  
Again.  
Daichi had split everyone in groups of two and assigned the various tasks.  
He and Asahi had to prepare the salad for dinner.  
He and Asahi.  
“It’s safer this way,” Daichi had mumbled before yelling something at Kageyama who was getting upset over some Tsukishima zingers and dropping a pile of dishes; safer than with Tanaka or someone from the first year.  
Please.  
Not that Nishinoya would mind. It was just that he felt all upside down, his heart in place of his throat, his brain gone, a strange tingling in his hands, his skin sore, so sensitive to even the slightest movement of air; in addition his stomach still hadn't recovered and Nishinoya wasn't sure that being in close contact with Asahi would help him.

Nishinoya had been alone for a few minutes, and already felt an avalanche of questions crashing down inside him.

First, what had happened in that room earlier?  
He was still seeing Asahi in front of him, with those dark eyes and that dazzling smile.  
Had he really said those words to Asahi-san? (The fact that they were lines from a script was totally secondary).  
Had his own hands really grabbed Asahi-san by his t-shirt?

Secondly, what would happen? Would he kiss him?! And just because it was written 'They kiss' on the fucking script?! What was the point of that?  
And he'd actually have the courage to do it?

And third and lastly, what the hell hadn't happened?  
Aaah, Shoyou! If he hadn't come in at that very moment...!  
And why did Asahi close his eyes? Was he maybe afraid?

Nishinoya shook his head and jumped on the spot, as if all those unwanted thoughts could be spurting out of his head like drops of water.

He looked at the huge empty bamboo bowl in front of him and the thick wooden chopping board.  
The four heads of wet lettuce were dripping to the ground.  
Among who worked in the kitchen, arranged crockery, cut, moved, cooked, the two of them had set up their workstation on a table on the veranda, where they could calmly prepare that blessed salad.  
The air was warm, the first stars glanced in the still bright light and Nishinoya was as electric as a "Rholling Thunder", whatever that meant.  
Unable to stand still, he turned around and that's when he saw Asahi appear at the glass door. He then saw him stagger towards him with a smile. Asahi was carrying at least a million things including a basket of pears, a bag, a nutcracker, two small envelopes of something and a little jar of honey.

"Nishinoya, sorry to keep you waiting..."

"No way! While I was waiting for you, I sharpened my knives!", he joked.

"Wh-what?"

"Shit... watch out Asahi-san!"

Asahi stumbled. Before Asahi could slip from his arms half the things he was holding, Nishinoya threw himself at him.  
Just to avoid the worst, he found himself squashed with his own body against Asahi's in the hope of stopping the several things from falling.

His own body.  
Against Asahi's body.

Sure, one hand was on the pear basket, the other one had stretched out to grab the bag (some walnuts had rolled down anyway), but it was against Asahi's chest, wide and solid, that his own chest was tightened; and it was against Asahi's pelvis, as stable as a column, that his own pelvis was crushed, in a ridiculous acrobatic attempt to stop the honey jar and other packages.

Even a salad, after all, was a big deal. You have to cut a lot of things. You have to be careful not to get distracted by glancing on a certain ace of your acquaintance and loose a finger with that. First of all, you have to avoid dropping all the necessary ingredients on the floor. And to do that you need agility and cool head.

Asahi was motionless, his body against his own, his eyes wide and guilty. His breath warm.  
(Cool. Head. Please).  
Making sure everything was safe, Nishinoya backed out with the utmost nonchalance.  
Inside, his heart rumbled like the most deafening of the drums beaten at the fairs by Saeko-neechan.

"Oh, boy, sorry Nishinoya! Thank you! If the honey jar broke, it really would have been a mess," Asahi hurried to say, placing everything on the table.

"Hell, Asahi-san! Honey, then! For a salad?!" Nishinoya asked, and the exaggerated volume he teased him with helped Nishinoya to recalibrate himself and dampen the tension a little bit.

"Ha ha, you're right. It's pretty unusual, isn’t it?"  
As if to explain it better, Asahi took his mobile phone out of the back pocket of his jeans, touched the screen and showed it to Nishinoya.  
"I thought we’d do something like this just for a change and not put the usual stuff on it...", he explained.

"Mrs. Bon Bon. What is it? A cooking blog?!"

"Well, yeah, it's a recipe... I mean, there's this lady from Osaka who posts very easy recipes and..."

"I didn't even know such things existed, Asahi-san! You're a resourceful man!"

"Oh, well...", Asahi shielded himself, "That's very useful, you know? When you're alone, I mean, you don't know what to cook and you don't want to screw it up..."

"Well, then I'll just have to write that down. I screw up a lot!"

Asahi laughed and in that laugh there was probably hope that by making a salad together, Nishinoya wouldn't set anything on fire.  
Asahi laughed and the planets lined up.

He laughed too. "Well, again: honey?!"

"Also cheese, pears and nuts," Asahi added with a pinch of pride, putting away his cell phone.

"Mmmm... I've never eaten anything like this..."

"You mean you won't like it?"

"That's not what I said!"

"Then start by opening these," Asahi winked and put the bag of nuts in front of Nishinoya’s nose.

Challenge accepted. Nishinoya brandished the nutcracker as a weapon. "Yes, sir!"

They were silent for a while.  
Asahi, without ever lifting his eyes from what he was doing, began to discard a rather smelly cheese from his envelope. Nishinoya watched him dice it carefully and set it aside, take a pear and start peeling it.  
Asahi seemed calm. There was no trace in his eyes of even half the questions that swirled inside him.  
Not even an hour earlier, in that room, with no one else in the house, Nishinoya must have imagined everything.  
It's a good thing he hadn't taken any weird steps. He would have hated himself if he had destroyed his friendship with Asahi on such a foolish impulse.

He felt a small twinge in the pit of his stomach though, but he didn't care.

Asahi had started humming with his mouth closed. Nishinoya would stand there for hours, watching him and listening to him...  
But he had a job to do. Of all the possible tasks, Asahi was absolutely right to give him just that one.  
Among the pieces of shell flying everywhere, Nishinoya was quite good at cracking nuts, so much so that he had already put aside a good bunch of them.  
He was just contemplating it at that moment, and he must have been quite absorbed, because he didn't notice Asahi's fingers slipping a piece of pear and a piece of cheese into his own mouth.  
The guardian god completely taken by surprise.  
"Mff...!", was the smartest thing he could say, his eyes wide and his heart racing.

"So? Do you like it?", Asahi asked him in a calm voice, despite the fact that he was burgundy.

Well, Nishinoya had to be too. Blame the heat, surely.

Nishinoya chewed slowly, trying to put the logical thread of his thoughts back together too.  
He couldn't think of anything but Asahi's fingers that had brushed against his lips.  
Then he was distracted by what he tasted.  
The soft taste of the pear met the salty taste of the cheese, the sweet merged with the spicy. He felt on his tongue the contrast of flavors mix into something new, unusual, intoxicating.  
Automatically he thought of him: Asahi. Sweet and spicy. Shy and imposing. Perfect.  
Never stop at appearances. Never.

He swallowed and considered whether or not to respond, because he was not sure if he had the vocal cords at his service at the time. "Perfect," he could whisper.

"Y-you like this combination?"

"Perfect and absolutely brilliant! Asahi-san, I've never eaten anything weirder and... good! It's so good! More!'' he said, taking another couple of pieces of pear and cheese that Asahi had cut and eating them.

"Okay, okay. Leave some for the others, too." Asahi chuckled, back to cutting.

"Ooookay... Thank you, though. I'd never eat anything like that on my own."

Nishinoya also went back to his walnuts.

"Well, you have to thank Mrs. Bon-Bon from the cooking blog."

Nishinoya laughed with gusto. "Thanks, Mrs. Bon-Bon from the cooking blog!"

"By the way...", Asahi added, after a moment's hesitation, "I wanted to say thank you too. ...for earlier"

Nishinoya felt himself shudder. Earlier…?

"For helping me with the scene, I mean. It... it was very helpful to me."

"You think so?"

"I do", Asahi looked at him for a moment and that look was like a caress. Short. Very nice.

Nishinoya wanted more.

"I'm really bad at it, anyway...", Nishinoya said. "You know, I can hardly keep up with the lines, I can't read fast enough... And I'd be a mess with my memory, too!"

"What are you saying? You did great. Are you forgetting you've already starred in one of Ennoshita’s movies?"

"Oh fuck, Asahi-san! You're not talking about 'Silence on the court'?"

"Yes..."

"Don't you remember the mess I made?! I was so happy to shoot the scenes with Johzenji's manager that I even forgot I was on a set, behind a camera. I had a dumb-ass face all the time! Luckily Ennoshita and the others decided to use the backlight..."

"And in the end you were really very convincing," Asahi concluded in an encouraging tone.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Sounds to me like you're the convincing one. Damn convincing... I mean, back in that room... Yes, I mean... You acted... You did well... You did very well, that's all."

In the silence that followed, Yamaguchi's voice came far away calling out "Tsukki!" in that typical way of his.

Neither of them seemed to hear it.

Asahi looked at Nishinoya for a few moments, his eyes narrowed in a hint of a smile.  
He had a relaxed yet intent expression, as if he was considering whether or not to say something to him.  
He had to decide for yes, because he spoke.  
"You know, in kindergarten and primary school I was pretty good... Or so the teachers said... Acting, I mean. In the performances at the end of the year, they always gave me the role of the hero or the prince."

"Ah, Asahi-san! It couldn't be otherwise! Who knows how tall you must have been already!", exclaimed Nishinoya, dreaming.

Asahi put the salad on the cutting board and started chopping it. "Well, yes, I was very tall for my age, indeed. And, I assure you, I felt like a monster compared to my classmates!"

"I’m sure they picked you for the lead roles because you were definitely a good-looking kid and you had... What does Chikara call it? The fisìk-du-ròl!"

"Ahahah! ‘Le physique du roll’… yeah! Let's say so!"

"Aaaaahh! Asahi-san! Those like you will never understand!... I always played the leprechaun or the pet friend of the main character," Nishinoya pouted.

Asahi barely managed to avoid laughing in his face. "I can perfectly imagine you...!"

"Are you kidding me?!", Nishinoya challenged him. (Not that Asahi was afraid of it).

"Anyway... what I wanted to say..."

Nishinoya felt light-headed, talking to Asahi. So light-headed that he overlooked the fact that Asahi was deliberately changing the subject.

"...is that every time I was on stage in front of my parents and the whole school... I ended up freezing," Asahi concluded, in a whisper.

Nishinoya could perfectly imagine it. His terrified little Asahi.  
His Asahi who was smiling at that moment, lost in a memory too far away to still be painful.

"The first time Ennoshita asked me to be in one of his movies,” Asahi continued, “I was scared to death (I am a little bit every time, to tell the truth). But I'm glad I accepted. Because it's different with the camera"

He lifted the cutting board to slide the salad into the bowl and in doing so got a little closer to Nishinoya. He almost touched him, his torso bent slightly forward.  
Nishinoya could smell his warm skin and the fresh smell of the salad.

"It's less scary. I mean, I'm standing there, behind this thing. With me are all of you and I don't feel alone... It's the same thing when I'm rehearsing the lines I have to say... The two of us with the script in our hands, and..."  
He looked up at him for a moment, or so it seemed to him. Nishinoya wasn't sure if he had really seen him, so it was quick. Quick as a Hinata and Kageyama’s ‘freak quick’.  
"...You know, it's a little... a little more... intimate."  
Asahi blushed. He had placed the cutting board back on the table and was playing with the knife in his hands.

Yeah, more intimate.

In his mind, Nishinoya suddenly saw Asahi laughing with Michimiya, comfortable, at ease.  
He felt like an idiot.

He had to do something, anything.  
He saw the pile of nuts and decided to go for it.  
He quickly broke away, and put some distance between himself and Asahi. (Asahi who, damn it, had got even closer to him).

A metallic noise blocked him. (Asahi had just dropped the knife.)

Stopping to pour the nuts on the rest of the salad, Nishinoya laughed, despite everything.  
Asahi looked suddenly and strangely wreck, his guilty look and his lip between his teeth. Could he have gotten upset just for dropping a knife? Ah, there was no limit to that big guy's guilt!

"I'll put the walnuts here, right?" Nishinoya told him as if nothing had happened, the sympathetic tone.

Asahi immediately relaxed. "Yes, they go there. Then we mix it all up at the end."

More intimate.  
"Well, I mean, you get along very well with Michimiya-san after all..." Nishinoya said tentatively and lightly. (It was a simple observation without consequence, wasn,t it? Without any consequence…).  
(That another twinge hit him unexpectedly at that specific spot under his sternum had even less meaning.)

"M-Michimiya-san...?"

"She's a very pretty girl," Nishinoya winked at him - and he hated himself for it -, "You get on well with her, don't you?"

Asahi apparently didn't understand. "Y-Yes, of course, Michimiya is very nice, but..."

"So you won't mind shooting that scene with her..., will you?"

Nishinoya couldn't take his eyes off him. He wasn't the subtlest guy in the world, he knew that. He had dropped a bomb and was ready to deal with the deflagration.  
His eyes were wide open on Asahi, careful to catch any movement that could have betrayed Asahi’s thoughts, just like on the court his eyes were careful to catch any movement that could have betrayed the intentions of the opponent wall.

Asahi looked away. He almost choked, "You mean the scene… we rehearsed today? Erm… you and me?"

Nishinoya nodded.

Asahi then scrutinized him with an indecipherable expression. He breathed in and seemed about to speak. Then he tightened his lips. He moved his gaze, lifted it again. He breathed in again.

He seemed eager to tell Nishinoya something. He seemed to be afraid to, at the same time. And frustrated, because of that.

Tell him what, by the way?

"Well, I feel relaxed with Michimiya..."  
That one? That's what Asahi wanted to tell him?!  
"You saw it, this morning, didn't you? With that 'fake theatrical kiss'...!", Asahi laughed, quietly.  
Nishinoya laughed too. Forcibly.  
"Well, then I thought..."  
Nishinoya looked at Asahi; he was missing something.  
"...I thought that the scene we shot this morning was outdoors."  
Asahi’s eyes were… on fire.  
"And it's set towards the end of the story."  
His weight shifted slightly forward.  
"On the contrary, the scene we rehearsed... you and me... earlier..."  
It was like he wanted to say something to him, like there was a hidden meaning under his words.  
"...that scene is indoors, in my room... I mean, in Johnny's room, and it's... more intimate."  
Nishinoya couldn't grasp that meaning, though.  
"You know, it's their first... kiss. Of the characters, I mean. Their first kiss, yeah."  
Shit.  
Nishinoya grabbed the honey jar.  
It was honey, right, the last ingredient to be poured on that salad?! Nishinoya grabbed the jar of honey, but his eyes were planted on Asahi, like in a trance.  
"I'm really afraid that Ennoshita in this case wants it... 'true'. The kiss, I mean"

"Oh, yeah?" Nishinoya squeaked, and that was the only thing he could say.

"Well, I'd be... yes, I would be so embarrassed", admitted Asahi, blushing. "Not because it's Michimiya, but..."  
Asahi took one step towards him. "But because I like..."

"Fuck!"  
The jar of honey practically exploded in his hands: Nishinoya had forced the lid too vehemently.  
"Oh God, what a mess I made!"  
As a result, quite a bit of honey had spilled on his fingers and threatened to drip onto the table.

Asahi was faster than him.  
It was a matter of moments.  
He took Nishinoya’s finger and put it in Nishinoya’s mouth.  
In doing so, Asahi had to get dirty too, because he instinctively brought his own finger to his own lips.  
And he sucked, at the same time that, by a conditioned reflex, Nishinoya was also sucking.  
Oh my.  
They looked at each other for a moment, each of them with their own sweetish finger in their own mouth.  
And both of them became burgundy.

Dear God, was there anything else that didn't include his mouth and Asahi's fingers?!

It was good that he couldn't speak, because Nishinoya would mutter a meaningless sentence.

And yet he had everything so clear in his head: 'Have you ever been kissed, Asahi-san? Because I haven't, never. And I wish I...’  
Maybe it was worth a try, he said.

He uncorked his mouth from his finger like a bottle of champagne, and Asahi winced.

Nishinoya stared at him, fiercely.  
‘Asahi-san, have you ever been kissed?’  
He could do it.  
‘Because I haven't, never. And I wish I...’

He inflated his lungs and jumped into it: "Asahi-san, have you ever-"

"So, is this salad ready?"

Daichi's voice came like a Ushiwaka spike in the face.

Asahi was also brought back to reality by the violence of the same spike, because he startled with a choked sound. He ran to Daichi to apologize and followed him with the bowl in his arms.

Before entering the house, however, he glanced one last time at Nishinoya, who had remained on the porch.  
He was nibbling on a lip that still tasted like honey.

***

It's about time.

Nishinoya had stalled as long as he could. He had kept his head under running water, had a snack, joked with Tanaka, Narita and Kinoshita, and when the three of them had said they were too tired to stay awake, he lazied a little longer, kicking gravel pebbles on the porch in the light of the mosquito lamp.  
However at some point bedtime had come. It was time to enter the room where each of them slept on their futon. Where Asahi slept on his own futon.  
It wasn't the first time Nishinoya spent the night in the same room as Asahi: after so many training camps he had got used to it. As always, there were twelve people in that room, and not just the two of them, of course.  
Yet, after "the great revelation", everything was different.  
Knowing that he was so close to Asahi, that he was breathing his own air, distressed Nishinoya a little: he couldn’t name that feeling. Not yet.

In front of the closed door, he sighed frustratedly; he had avoided Asahi for the entire evening, and the whole situation was exhausting for someone like him, who was used to take his problems head-on.  
That's enough!  
He wrinkled his face forcefully, slid the door open and entered the dark room with conviction.

As he stepped inside, Nishinoya stumbled into something - or someone, judging by the whining grunt in which he seemed to recognize Yamaguchi -, fell forward and used hands and feet to move through the dark clusters of what appeared to be his mates.

Hell, it was a completely different arrangement than usual.  
What was Yamaguchi doing so close to the door?

After a while his pupils adapted to the low light filtering through the curtains and Nishinoya finally identified the only spot left free: a futon piled up next to the wall under the window, at the farthest point from where he was at that moment.  
What the heck.  
He breathed in and began to move. Stealthy as a lizard, he slalomed between snoring, scratching and curling boys as he passed, and got to the designated spot.  
Or rather, he was about to reach it, but when he was about to, he froze like a statue of salt, his eyes dilated, his breath cut off.

Next to his futon, not even to say it, Asahi was lying. Sleeping on the side, knees to his chest, hair scattered on the pillow: Asahi.  
Who else?  
He turned around looking for Tanaka, because that's who definitely gave a little push.  
Tanaka was actually a little further away, he was sleeping pretty good.

Nishinoya slowly shifted his attention back to Asahi. He sighed.  
Ok. He could do it.

He started going slowly past him.  
Asahi's t-shirt was slightly raised and left his side uncovered. His shorts had dropped just a little more than they should, and his hip bone was in plain sight. There was no need to have taken drawing lessons to know how perfectly shaped and proportioned that bone was.

Nishinoya swallowed and quickly looked away, guilty.  
Only, in doing so, he could no longer see where he put his hands and feet as he crawled towards his futon.  
So, when his calf accidentally grazed the hands that Asahi was holding abandoned in front of his face, Nishinoya felt like he was struck by an electric shock.  
He hid like an animal on his futon, and held his breath.  
He them peered over his shoulder.  
Asahi hadn't moved.

It was hot in that room, terribly hot. Nishinoya realized his hair was sticking to his forehead and his back was sweaty.  
To hell with the shower.  
Staying awake wouldn't help him anyway. Better fall asleep as fast as possible.  
He turned around, stiffly, trying not to look at Asahi in the meantime, and started to adjust the pillow. Hidden between the pillow and the mattress, his fingers found a folded piece of paper. What...? He opened it, close to his nose. In those few thick characters, he recognized Ryuuu's handwriting even in the dark: 'Thank me, Noyassan!' That bastard. Nishinoya imagined him with a toothy smile, a raised thumb and a mischievous look.  
He looked one last time at Asahi, whose face was on the edge of his futon, tremendously close to entering his personal space.  
Nishinoya laid down without making a noise and gave him his back, trying to calm his breathing.  
Shit. Other than thanking Ryuu; the next day he would have killed him. It was only a matter of a few hours.

*

A blow to his chest woke him up and Nishinoya was certain he had been landed by a Goku energy ball.

He opened his eyes wide and realized that he was not on a soft yellow cloud, as he had believed, but in the middle of the night in a room used as a temporary male dormitory. A symphony of nocturnal rales and heavy air of adolescent hormones.

It was just a dream. No fighting and no glory.

Yet the weight in his chest hadn't gone away.  
Nishinoya reached out his hand and freezed.  
A heavy, abandoned arm held him against the futon.  
He slowly turned his head to his left and at a breath away from his face, he saw him: Asahi.  
Well, Asahi's arm. Yes… No…  
Asahi sleeping a breath away from his own face, lips ajar, regular breathing.  
Fuck.  
Evidently Asahi must have rolled towards him in his sleep and inadvertently lifted his arm, the same arm on him that moment.

So that wasn't a hug, nothing like that. Or at least nothing planned, wanted, chosen.  
What the fuck was he thinking.

Better get out of that situation as soon as possible.

Nishinoya tried to move Asahi's arm without waking up the owner - how else would he explain that embarrassing position? -, but the boy had to be made of steel, or at least his sleep must have added some super-powers, because Nishinoya couldn't move said arm, if not by a few millimeters.

He then tried to slip away, but the movement apparently shook Asahi's sleep, which tightened his grip even more, squeezing Nishinoya’s t-shirt on the chest and approaching him almost touching his neck with his lips.

Nishinoya felt as if the air had been ripped from his lungs. It didn't seem unlikely that his heart had now burst into his skull and threatened to explode at any moment.  
The others would find him the next morning in Asahi's arms in a bloodbath.  
Then Asahi would be dead, too. Of fear, though, and guilt.

No, he couldn't allow that.  
He had to hurry up and calm his breathing.

Calm down, Nishinoya, calm down. That's it.

Nishinoya relaxed a little, and Asahi's hand relaxed his grip too.  
Nishinoya felt Asahi’s heat through the cotton of his t-shirt.  
Then Asahi's hand relaxed too much, and slid down, just enough to touch the exposed skin of Nishinoya, on which a flap of the t-shirt had risen.  
He shuddered, Nishinoya, with a warm shiver, the kind of sudden, violent shiver you get when you have a high fever.  
Nishinoya felt that hand burning on his skin, as if he were branding it on fire.  
He felt that fire, like a trickle of boiling lava, enter his chest, pouring down his stomach, down his bowels below his navel, and down, deeper and deeper.  
Nishinoya’s head was spinning and his face was surely on fire. And not only that.  
He bit his lip and turned towards Asahi, pulling his head back a little to get a better look at him. Asahi continued to breathe regularly, tickling his neck skin, unaware of the battle Nishinoya was fighting, beside him. Beneath him... Or whatever.

Once they settled on Asahi, in the darkness of night, his pupils dilated to the maximum to catch the boy's profile.  
Nishinoya sighed, imperceptibly... Asahi had a serene, abandoned, relaxed expression. He never looked like that when he was awake. He could be scared, frowning, focused, smiling, and each of those expressions was perfect. But he was never just Asahi, as pure and simple as he was at that moment.  
If the big guy in question had known he was being examined like that, he would have been violently ashamed. Nishinoya repressed a giggle.  
He wondered if Asahi was the type to sleep with a pillow. Or maybe a big stuffed dog. It's possible. Not that there was anything wrong with that, he thought with a smile. At least it would have explained that whole absurd situation. 

Nishinoya began to release his shoulder muscles and stop resisting the weight of that arm.  
His heart did not stop beating relentlessly, though, nor did it stop threatening to explode.  
Yet, at the same time, Nishinoya felt inexplicably calmer.  
He found himself concentrating on Asahi's eyelids, on his half-closed jaw, on his breathing, on the heat that he emanated.  
He also began to enjoy being protected by that arm, which stopped looking heavy.

How many times, early in the morning, with the excuse of waking him up, Nishinoya had stood looking at Asahi and lingered on his sleeping face a few minutes longer than necessary...  
Why, now, it was extremely clear to him.  
Did it really take him that long to figure it out?

Without thinking about it, he reached out his hand and with his fingers moved some hair from Asahi’s face.

"I think..." he whispered so softly that he barely could hear his own voice, "I think I'm in love with you, Asahi-san."

"Hmm...", Asahi slurred, as in reply, barely moving.  
And Nishinoya held his breath, his hand still raised in front of him.  
"Mmmgnh... oyaa..."

Asahi was dreaming, Nishinoya said to himself. Of course he was dreaming.  
Yet he couldn't help wondering what that grumbling meant. Had Asahi just said "Noya", hadn’t he? He wasn’t the only one who heard, was he?! No, it couldn't have been. Could it?  
‘Is he dreaming... about me?’  
No, not likely.  
‘He must have said Oya,’ nishinoya thought, ‘Or Nagoya.’  
Yes, it must have been. Asahi was dreaming of visiting the city of Nagoya.

And then all of a sudden, as it had come, that sweet, strange, absurd feeling dissolved.  
With the same unnerving easyness with which he had approached him, Asahi moved away again, rolling away from his futon.  
And Nishinoya suddenly felt cold and a hateful sense of emptiness where Asahi's hand had been a moment before, between his skin and the cotton of his t-shirt until.  
More or less at the height of his heart.

He didn't let that get him down, though.  
He wasn't the type to let that get him down.

Nishinoya curled up in the warmth that Asahi had left beside him.  
He breathed in Asahi’s intoxicating perfume, determined to treasure that stolen moment and fall asleep only after repeating it a thousand and one times in his mind.

The day would come and it would take away the warmth, the breath, the closeness, the inaudible whispering, the indecipherable whisper, the hair on Asahi’s face and all the rest, on the border between dream and reality.

But in the end, Nishinoya would perhaps really thank Ryuu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everybody!
> 
> As promised I was able to update this second part of the chapter in record time!  
> And slowly things are evolving. Very slowly, I know, but I think it takes time to build it all up. What do you say?
> 
> I'm having a great time writing this story. It would be precious for me reading your comments about how I'm managing the various characters and meeting other people who are passionate about the characters I write about.
> 
> About the next chapter I can tell you that among other things we'll talk about dreams, someone will prepare breakfast for someone else (let's see if you can guess who!), we'll have some more Hinata/Yachi with the addition of Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, we'll play more than one match and jealousy will be insidious...! That and much more...!  
> Hugs!
> 
> InuAraXHaikyuu
> 
> In the next chapter:  
> She took his finger between her lips and wiped the cappuccino foam off.  
> Oh, my, God.  
> He felt the tip of her tongue on his fingertip and suddenly he couldn’t see straight.  
> (…)  
> "Oh, God, what a shame! Sorry, I acted impulsively!"  
> All he just could do was gasping and not being able to put words together, brain dead and a pleasant tingling where he'd never want to admit.


	4. CUUUT! (This won’t do, anyway...)

Saturday

"Wow!! Are you telling me you slept with him in your arms?!"

"That’s not what I meant, Ryuu!"

They had just come out of the bathroom and Tanaka found himself crushed against the corridor wall. Nishinoya had pushed him unceremoniously and now he looked left and right, repeatedly. Luckily, no one was coming. It was early and everyone was probably still asleep. Thank fuck. Nishinoya loosened his grip and as if nothing had happened, Tanaka finished towelling dry his neck with a towel that’d been previously hung over his shoulders. His gaze showed anything but surprise or fluster. Rather he seemed pleased, indeed; somehow truly amazed.

"Well, man, congratulations. You are and stay my hero. It was me who made you sleep next to him, it's true, and I'm definitely great for it, no need to thank me. But you're the one who - in two days since you figured it out - could find a way to sleep in the arms of the guy you like! And even before you told him!"

"Ryuu!- What the hell! Would you shut your fucking mouth?!” hissed Nishinoya.

"The mouth of truth, my dear, no more and no less," his friend grinned. 

Nishinoya couldn't scowl at him for more than a few seconds. Frustration dissolved like ashes between his fingers and his sulk gave way to a good laugh.

"All right, I know, I'm super cool...!" he condescendingly admitted.

"Not as cool as me...!"

"Well, we agree our standards are pretty high, right?"

"Absolutely agree."

"But it has to be said that I didn’t do much last night. Fortune was on my side."

"Fortune always makes itself know! It also helps the bold ones..."

"Heh heh heh..."

"So… you go ahead now and tell him!"

"Are you crazy?!" Nishinoya snapped, "Tell him what?!"

"You know damn well what. That you like-"

"Guys!!! What are you doing here?", Nishinoya screamed, elbowing into Ryuu's rib at the same time that Hinata and Yachi, still in their pajamas, had appeared from around the corner and were getting closer.

"We're going to breakfast, of course," replied in a flat tone Tsukishima, who had appeared behind them and was dragging along a sleepy Yamaguchi.

"Of course, of course! We are going, too. Ha ha ha!" 

"Nishinoya-san, have mercy. We just woke up," Tsukishima reminded him, massaging his temple. 

Nishinoya was too busy hiding the terrible inner struggle between several 'Did they hear us?!' as many 'Did they not hear us?!?' under the disproportionate volume of his laughter to realize that his role as a senpai wasn't sufficiently respected by the tall first year. He continued to limit himself to simply follow the rest of his teammates into the kitchen and began to communicate with Tanaka through a secret code made of wide-open eyes, shaking heads and various gestures.

"Well, I was telling you, Yachi-san, at one point I climbed on his back and used his scales as steps to climb even higher..."

Somehow Shoyo's voice and Yachi's giggles had a calming effect on Nishinoya.

"What would’ve you done?" Tsukishima asked.

Even though Tsukishima didn’t have any real interest and on the contrary was even contemptuous, the blond boy's tone was comforting too at the time - it was at least clear proof that none of them had heard Ryuu speak so carelessly. Nishinoya huffed and passed his hand over his face. That bastard. Despite everything, he smiled naturally. And Ryuu naturally hit him back with the most unpunished wink ever.

"Hinata was telling me about the dream he had last night," Yachi explained. "He dreamt he met a huge dinosaur!"

"Tsukki likes dinosaurs!", Yamaguchi stepped in enthusiastically.

"Shut up, Yamaguchi"

"Sorry, Tsukki!"

"In any case," Hinata went on, turning to Yachi again, "At one point, I climbed up to his crest and he spat fire!"

"How cool!" exclaimed Tanaka, who had actively listened.

"Are you sure it was a dinosaur?" commented Tsukishima.

"It’s my dream!" protested Hinata, as he entered the kitchen and served himself a huge bowl of rice from the kettle.

"Good morning, guys!"

Nishinoya only noticed at that moment that in a corner of the kitchen Daichi was tinkering with a pot and a couple of mugs.

"Good morning, Dai-san!" he said in unison with the others, grabbing a cookie from an abandoned tin can on the table and shoving it in his mouth. "Pretty early morning, huh?"

"As always", the captain shielded himself, "As always"...

Nishinoya took the milk carton from the fridge and sat down.

"What about you, Yachi-san? What did you dream about?" Hinata continued with his mouth full, handing her a portion of white rice.

"I-I?!"

"Yeah, don't you remember?"

"Yes, but I'm a little embarrassed. It's a stupid dream, I guess..."

"Well, it won't be more stupid than this dumbass’s dream," Kageyama mumbled, yawning and popping out of nowhere.

"Hey, you! When did you get here? And who asked you anything? My dream was so cool! Even Tanaka-senpai said so!"

With his mouth full of cereals, Tanaka grunted something and gave a thumbs up.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” Kageyama dismissed him. "So, this dream of yours?" he then turned to Yachi.

"Yes! So... I was flying! (It's a bit trivial actually...) but I was flying! Not that I was flying myself, I was riding a bird... a huge one! And it had the softest yellow feathers (or maybe they were orange?) ...And it was making me fly high towards the sun. But it didn’t burn. It was pleasant. There was a nice breeze. Then I slipped and started to fall and fall... and I got very scared, but the orange crow (oh my, I don't really know if it was a crow or... It would be funny if it was, though, wouldn't it?) ...it did a somersault in the air and the bird caught me flying and I didn’t risk smashing into the ground anymore... on the contrary... I was saved! In the end it was funny too!"

Tsukishima poured himself a glass of tea and stood still watching her. Yamaguchi giggled nervously. Kageyama nodded and continued sucking milk through his straw.

"Wooooh!!!! It's a cool dream too!" Hinata, of course, got excited.

"Isn’t it?"

"Totally!!! And what about you, Asahi-san? What did you dream about, last night?"

"W-what?"

Nishinoya didn't realize until that moment that Asahi had set foot in the kitchen, with quiet footsteps, apparently, and that he was standing in front of them. At that moment he was standing with one hand in midair, still in the gesture of taking a clean cup from the cupboard, hunted by Hinata's question. Which, who knows why, seemed to shake him beyond measure.

"I... don't... what?"

"You must have been dreaming something, right?" Hinata urged him.

Asahi seemed unable to articulate even one word.  
He turned to look at Nishinoya.  
Nishinoya smiled encouragingly.  
And Asahi looked away, as if burned.

"Nagoya!", Nishinoya yelled.

"What?" Hinata asked, wide eyes.

Asahi seemed paralyzed.

"Nagoya! Asahi-san had a dream about Nagoya last night. Isn't that right, Ace?" he asked, stretching his face in a disarming smile.

"Huh?" Asahi said, without understanding.

"Hahahah! You talk in your sleep and you don't even know it! At some point you said: 'Nagoya'! And I thought: 'Man, how cool, he must be dreaming of visiting the Golden Temple!'"

"That's actually in Kyoto," Tsukishima inserted, sharp.

“Ah that’s not important. Right, Asahi-san?"

"Ah... Hahahah! Ehm... Yes! Of course... that's right, Nagoya!.... Sorry, I didn't mean to... uh... wake you up..."

"Come on, no worries! Anyway, you should be prouder of your dreams, Asahi-san!", Nishinoya recounted with a good-natured pat on his shoulder, which not only made a chocked sound come out from Asahi, but also calmed his own red alert nerves.  
Nishinoya also wanted to believe once and for all that he had actually heard the word 'Nagoya' coming out of Asahi's lips when his Ace had woken him the night before. He wanted to believe it even though he wasn't certain at all and even though Ryuu kept shaking his head next to him, slowly and nerve-wrackingly.

*

Daichi walked out of the kitchen, while the first year boys were talking about dreams and dinosaurs and what big boy Asahi had babbled, being put in trouble by a normal question from Hinata.

"Go figure," he mumbled to himself, barely repressing a chuckle.  
It's a good thing the guardian deity always knew how to run to his rescue.

Daichi came out of the little door on the porch without anyone noticing.  
As he came out, he heard the voice of Ennoshita, who had evidently just entered the kitchen: "Good morning, everyone. Noya, Ryuu, please, when you're finished, I need you to check the schedule with me."

He heard the first one answer for both: "Copy that, Spielberg Ennoshita!"

"Noya, please..."

Daichi was now far away enough to not hear Ennoshita's embarrassed protests, though.

It was a nice warm sunny morning outside, even though it was still seven o'clock. A nice warm sunny morning with random chirping of birds whose names he was going to continue to ignore.  
The world was saying 'good morning', and he just wanted to see her.  
Nothing else.  
He wanted to see Michimiya.

He had spent a night in hell, tossing and turning in bed tirelessly, not even knowing whether he had actually slept at all or not, in the end, whatever he remembered as fragmented and confused dreams were maybe only the endless minutes that had separated him from the light of dawn.  
But dawn had finally arrived, and he had finally got up, wet with sweat and ready to shake off every shred of doubt.

He was up and he wanted to see her. Period.

He had jumped in the shower and, coming out, shirtless and still with wet hair, he had seen her.  
She hadn't noticed him while sneaking out. She was wearing nothing but a light-colored tank top and a pair of shorts.  
Daichi had smiled. Forty minutes, no more.

He had got up with the urge to do something for her.  
And in those forty minutes, he had plenty of time to prepare his little surprise for her.

Daichi took a few steps into the yard, toward the left side of the house, careful not to spill the contents of the two cups.  
Over there were Hinata's and his little sister Natsu's rooms, which had been prepared to accommodate the girls. On that side of the house there was also a second bathroom, which had obviously become the girls’ bathroom; to go to the kitchen from there, the only way was through the outside wooden walkway. The same walkway where he was waiting.

Daichi inhaled.  
He looked first at one cup, then at the other.  
He exhaled and smiled.  
It was still a matter of a few minutes.

Whether it was sunny or rainy, every morning at precisely 6:20 a.m. Michimiya would go running for exactly half an hour. At 6:50 she would come home and have a shower lasting no more than ten minutes, and at 7:00 o’ clock she would be ready for breakfast.  
Forty minutes in all.

That morning, he had decided to make breakfast for her.

Michimiya had always followed the same routine, no matter whether she was at home or out for a week shooting a film she was the star of: she’d been like that ever since he'd met her, or not?

Daichi stopped his train of thoughts and wondered how he knew the girl's habits so precisely. In middle school, they had been training together for a while... Or did he remember badly?  
Time flies, he realized, and little by little you lose sight of the things you know.  
About when, about why. Only the essence of things remains.  
When had he fallen in love with her? That week?  
Did he fall in love after seeing her behind a camera acting a love scene with Asahi?  
No. Long before that. Who knows when.  
He wondered if it had been back then, at the age of twelve, when he had put a band-aid on her peeled knee; or when she, in their first year of high school, had run to protect him from the rain with her umbrella, determined to trade half of her body for half of his, and therefore letting her right side soak, in order to allow his right side to stay dry. Or maybe it was when a few months earlier, in the early summer breeze, they had gone to buy Suga's birthday present; or maybe it was when she had smiled at him before the game against Shiratorizawa.  
Who knows when.  
Why, he didn't even need to ask. Because it was her. Michimiya. 

"Sawamura!"

His heart betrayed him brutally, moving within a thousandth of a second from an ordinary rhythm to something more like a jackhammer planted in his chest.

He turned around. Michimiya was looking at him with big eyes and a surprised smile.  
She was barefoot, with wet hair going all over, wearing a peach-colored summer dress.

He was taken by surprised, too.  
Completely.  
Even if he was supposed to be waiting for her.

"Good morning, Michimiya," he said to her, succeeding in keeping a firm tone, "You still have to eat breakfast, right? I took the liberty of making this for you."

He handed her the red cup, filled to the brim with an inviting white foam.

"For me?" she asked, incredulously, extending one hand towards the cup, without daring to grasp it.

"Of course!", he giggled, embarrassed and relieved at the same time.

"Oh boy, Sawamura! This is a cappuccino!", she shouted, unable to contain herself. In a single gesture, she took the cup from his hands and brought it to his lips. "Mmmm... it's delicious! Thank you!"

Daichi smiled satisfied and said nothing. It was enough for him, taking a sip of some of the black coffee he had prepared for himself, enjoying breakfast standing up.

He had remembered that time he had gone with Michimiya to that cafe downtown: she had literally gone into raptures over that foamy latte. He still had it in his ears, the sound of her voice when she rambled on about how she had enjoyed the hot beverage. Like a child unable to filter what she feels when she likes something. At the time, he looked at her while drinking, amused.  
He promised himself he'd take her back to that cafeteria another afternoon. Then the days had passed, training had taken over... and there he was, trying to make up for lost time in that surprise cappuccino breakfast.  
Luckily Suga had, it seemed, similar tastes to those of Michimiya.  
It turned out that to set his plan in motion, he needed the very same gadget he was carrying everywhere and which he had found in the techno-junk shop near his house. What did he call it? Oh, yeah, an electric milk frother. Apparently Suga always had it with him, along with two pairs of portable cell phone batteries and a mini book lamp.

So, that morning, Daichi got it into his head to use that thing to make her a cappuccino. He had made coffee and warmed the milk, and after a few seconds, a good dose of foam finally came out.

"Mmm... how... soft!"

Daichi raised an eyebrow, unable to hold back a chuckle. "Soft?"

"I can't describe it any better than that! This cappuccino warms my heart!"

Michimiya ajar closed her eyes and curled up to sit on the wooden walkway with her feet dangling. He imitated her.

Cappuccino. He thought that this was probably not the true sound with which that word was to be pronounced; it was Italian. But in Michimiya's voice it sounded cute. Cappuccino. He would have wanted to hear her say it a thousand more times.

"Thank you," he heard her say. "It's beautiful to wake up like this."

When he turned to tell her that there was no need to thank him and that it was a pleasure for him, Daichi froze, unable to say anything.  
Sure, on Michimiya's pink lips there was a bit of foam, which she was unaware of, but could it really be that something so insignificant was enough to crash his brain?  
The problem was that Daichi didn't get to answer that question. The short circuit prevented him from thinking straight, and his hand moved on its own.  
He extended his index finger and ran it over Michimiya's upper lip.  
The girl freezed.

That's when he realized what he was doing. Sort of.  
"Ah, oh, sorry... Oh, God, I didn't mean to... You had some foam, that's all, look..."

"Oh, boy, what a shame! Just like a child! Oh, boy, I'm sorry! Wait, here!"  
She didn’t help much either, because somehow, she managed to turn the situation upside down. Without thinking about it too, she did something absolutely unpredictable: she took his finger between her lips and wiped the cappuccino foam off.

Oh, my, God.  
Daichi felt the tip of Michimiya's tongue on his fingertip and suddenly he couldn’t see straight.  
When he composed himself, it must have not been more than a split second, Michimiya was still glued to his finger.  
From the way her eyes were opening wide, Daichi realized that the girl was only at that moment realizing what she was doing.

She immediately pulled away. " Oh, God, what a shame! Sorry, I acted impulsively! What an idiot, what an idiot!"  
Michimiya hid her face in her hands, meanwhile she continued to shake her head, red to the root of her hair.

Daichi would have wanted to reassure her, to tell her that there was no reason to be ashamed, that these things could happen... but all he just could do was gasping and not being able to put words together, brain dead and a pleasant tingling where he'd never want to admit.

"I'm sorry, I really am." Michimiya continued. Then she said the first thing that came to her mind to get out of the way. "Would you- would you like to try some?"

"Y-Yes!" he was able to say, with a louder volume than necessary and a slightly too formal connotation.

Daichi took the cup and brought it mechanically to his lips.  
It didn't even matter if anyone could call it an indirect kiss. They weren't junior high students, come on!  
In any case, it was better than sitting there without saying anything and thinking about Michimiya's warm tongue and Michimiya's soft, wet mouth wrapping his finger...  
Oh, God! Stop it, Daichi!  
Well, ok, it was as good a diversion as any, that's all.

"Oh, boy," Michimiya widened her eyes and looked at him guilty, almost sorry.

"What's the matter?"

"You have... You have..."

"Hmm?"

Michimiya swallowed. "Now YOU have a... a foam mustache on your... on your lip."

"Oh"

His pulse stopped completely.  
They looked at each other for a long moment, undecided what to do.

And then they laughed.  
And in the laughter, Daichi, without being aware of it, passed his tongue over his lip, and Michimiya, distractedly, placed her hand on his arm; and he leaned towards her, and she leaned towards her without realizing it.

Laughter died down both their throats.

They were close. Too close for Daichi not to wonder if she tasted like the cappuccino he had prepared for her.  
He came closer, determined to find out.

"Michimiya-san!", Ennoshita's voice came out treacherously, once again.

"Yes?", she screamed, as if caught red-handed.

Daichi backed out, his mind numbed.  
What... what was he going to do?  
He looked at her confused. She smiled at him, agitated, sunny as always, yet nervous. Had he embarrassed her? It had to be. He had entered her personal space in that reckless way, and she... It was obvious that she would feel uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No! Excuse me!" she giggled, standing up.

"Michimiya-san. There you are." Ennoshita peeped out the porch door. "Have you had breakfast?"

"Yes," she answered, raising her eyes to Daichi for a moment.

"Perfect! I need you and Asahi-san to talk about the scene we're shooting this morning."

"Here I am," she nodded.  
And as she followed the director into the house, Michimiya turned one last time towards Daichi. "Thank you, you are… you've been very kind."  
She gave him the most beautiful smile.

Well, even though he wanted to tell her that no, it wasn't a matter of kindness, that he was in love with her and yes, he wanted to kiss her, there, at that moment, in spite of the film, and whatever relationship she had with Asahi, despite his own shyness, even despite the foam of a random cappuccino, he couldn't do anything but reciprocate that smile as best he could.

***

"One, two, three... jump!"

In the unreal silence of the set, Michimiya's laughter gurgled genuinely.  
Asahi held her lifted up by her waist and she looked over the top, across the court.

Nishinoya's eyes were instead directed a little lower, glued there where Asahi’s grip was firm, where Asahi’s tanned hands stood out against her pale skin.  
Like ripples of coffee in the foam of a cappuccino.  
A slightly milk-diluted coffee, not too black, but still perfect.

Nishinoya was thinking about it, unaware of the pout on his lips.

Ennoshita standing not far from him, bent forward, followed the scene with trepidation, nodding at every line.

"So this is what you see when you jump before you spike?" Michimiya widened her eyes.

He lowered her and she put her feet on the ground again.

"Well, sort of... When I'm not blocked!"

They were in the dirt field not far from Hinata's house; the ideal location for the story Ennoshita wanted to shoot.

And that was the scene where Johnny taught Baby to play volleyball. Where he taught her how to jump as high as she could.

"I don't think that's possible... for me. I'll never be able to jump that high."

"Don't say that, it's just a matter of training! Come on, let's try again."

"Yes!"

Again, Asahi took her by the hips and lifted her high above him.

Michimiya was wearing blue shorts and a white top that left her tummy uncovered.  
Nishinoya looked away.  
It hurt like hell to see how close Asahi's fingers were to the girl's navel.  
He wondered what those hands must look like on his own skin. If they had the same effect. Dark, strong, gentle.

He swallowed and looked at them again.  
They were back on the ground, next to each other, and his character was showing her character how to jump. And she had to try it right afterwards, to see if she understood.  
Asahi jumped, his eyes bright in the morning light, some messy locks on his face.  
Asahi jumped and Nishinoya’s heart stopped. How perfect his Ace was.  
Then Michimiya jumped. Not as high as Asahi, not as exemplary in shape. And yet she was beautiful. She was playing the part of a girl who knew nothing about volleyball, but that jump clearly proved otherwise. Michimiya was a very capable player. Every movement of her body told of the constancy with which the girl had to train.  
Nishinoya had to admit it: Michimiya was beautiful and very good.

"Stooop! Bravo, boys, bravo! The scene was very good," said Ennoshita, "Everyone take five minutes off!"

In the general shouting, Nishinoya grabbed two bottles of water and ran to give them to the two actors.  
"Here you are! What a scene...! You've done so well!", he congratulated with genuine enthusiasm.  
Like it or not, love pains aside, he was in front of two great players and could only feel true admiration.

"Th-thank you, Noya," smiled Asahi, taking the bottle and drying his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Asahi-san!", then Nishinoya turned to him, practically screaming in his face.

"Y-Yes?"  
"You were so cool! You were there, and I was like, ‘Wow! It's so cool to have a coach like him!’ And it’s true: you'd be so great to teach. And then, nothing, you made that jump and I thought, ‘A real Ace.’”

Despite how Nishinoya felt about him, he couldn't help but tell him how much he valued him. And throw up a series of words at him at a very loud volume. After all, Nishinoya was still Nishinoya.

"You think so?"  
And Asahi was always Asahi.

In front of the boy who giggled shyly and suddenly fidgeted, Nishinoya could no longer see straight and the volume of his voice, if possible, increased more.  
"If I think so?! Asahi-san, are you kidding me?! Straighten up those shoulders and be proud of yourself! Aaah! What am I going to do with you?! Sometimes I wish you were... I don't know! ...possessed by Johnny's character! I swear! You were so convincing just now!"

"Noyaaa! You're always so hard on me...!"

"Just because he cares about you!"  
The speaker was Michimiya, who until then had remained silent and watched their exchange amused.

They both turned to look at her.

"Ha ha, you think so?" Asahi asked her nervously.

"Of course, Azumane, it's obvious!"

"Asahiiii!" Suga's voice broke the moment. "Can you come in for a moment? We need you!"

"O-Of course! Here I am!"

Asahi ran away; Nishinoya kept his eyes planted on Michimiya.

She turned to him and smiled. "I always tell him that too, you know, Nishinoya-kun?"

Nishinoya looked at her and didn't know what to think.

"Oh well, it's not like I'm a self-esteem champion, but... Damn, he's so gifted and he doesn't even know it."

Suddenly Nishinoya felt his chest warm. "In fact! Do you think so too, Michimiya-san?"

"Of course! I, on the other hand… Do you know how much training I'd have to do to get to his level? I wish I was as good as him... Earlier he’s been... You said it right, Nishinoya-kun, he’s been so cool!"

Her eyes shone and Nishinoya felt hopelessly infected.

"He really is! You should see what it's like when he's playing for real! I mean, you've seen him... but being with him behind the same net, well... I know he's about to do something spectacular. And even though I know it, I stop and look at him for a second. Then he jumps and... bam! Nobody dares mess with him!"

Michimiya laughed and he couldn't help himself to laugh too.

"It must be great to cover the back of a player like him..."

"Yes, it is..."

He looked at her and couldn't help it: the girls volleyball team 'captain' was a very nice person. There was no way he could dislike her.

"Well, then, do your best, Michimiya-san!"

"You can count on it, Nishinoya kun!"

***

"Woooohhh!!! That was so cool!!!!"  
Once Ennoshita had given the ‘cut’, Hinata was no longer able to contain himself.  
"Kageyama! Kageyama! Did you see how Asahi-san raised Michimiya-san?!"

"I saw, I saw. I was there too, dumbass."

"No, you didn't see it, or you would have found it phenomenal too."

"Yes, yes, it was phenomenal."

"Guys," Yachi stepped in, breathless, "Did you happen to see the makeup case?"

Hinata didn't think twice. "Asahi took her like this and swiiish! It looked like she was flying!"

"Aaahh! Hinata! What are you doing?" Yachi found herself suspended in the air, Hinata's hands clenched on her hips.

"Isn't it cool, Yachi-san?"

"Y-yes, but..."

Perhaps it was because Hinata was too enthusiastic or distracted by winking at her; or perhaps it was simply because his arms were not as strong as those of Asahi.  
The fact is that Hinata began to stagger dangerously and Yachi closed her eyes.  
When she opened them again, she found herself in the arms of Tsukishima, face to face with him who had simply taken her out of Hinata's hands.

"Are you planning to kill Yachi-san?" he asked him in a flat voice.

"What?!"

"You idiot!" Kageyama went in, grabbing Hinata by the collar of his shirt, "Yesterday how dare you scold me?! Apologize to her!"

"Of course I'm sorry, but this is completely different...", Hinata began to protest.

"Huh?", Tsukishima interrupted. "So this isn't the first time you have tried to kill Yachi-san?"

"No one here is going to kill anyone!" cried Hinata, red in the face, "I would have saved her!"

"Like you usually save the balls?", commented Tsukishima, mocking.

Hinata became, if possible, even redder.

"Yachi, are you all right?" Yamaguchi, who had witnessed the whole scene in horror, hurried towards her.

"Yes, Yamaguchi-kun, thank you, don't worry!" she smiled at him. (And he blushed slightly). "I didn't even have time to get scared. I could've died without realizing it. That's a relief!"

"I'm happy for you!" Yamaguchi tried to support her.

"Are you serious?" asked Tsukishima, puzzled as he laid her down.

Hinata, for his part, didn’t stop shouting, "You wouldn't die, Yachi-saaaan!!"

And Yachi laughed, amused.

***

"Nice receive!"

Under the midday sun, Nishinoya was sweaty and short of breath.  
Asahi's voice was like an electric shock that made him forget his tiredness; as a result, a smile opened wide on Nishinoya’s lips.

The spike he had managed to receive was in the air, ready to be spiked, and once again Nishinoya looked at Asahi, hypnotized.  
And anxious.  
And euphoric.

Just a few minutes earlier he was in the garden with his head under running water.

"I really hope Ennoshita will win an Academy Award," he grunted, "...because this film is killing me."

Standing next to the fountain, Ryuu had laughed out loud. "I don't know about an Academy Award, but you sure are making the ultimate sacrifice! It must be hard to see him so in tune with Michimiya-san. Our handsome Ace, I mean."

In response, a clumsy verse had come out from under the waterjet.

"Nishinoya!"

A clumsy verse interrupted by Asahi's own voice itself.

Nishinoya immediately pulled himself up, wet and racing heart, while Ryuu kept laughing and Asahi came running towards him.

"Nishinoya! Tanaka! Ennoshita gave us an hour and a half lunch break because he has to go to the village to buy some things, and we all were thinking of playing a few matches two against two... Yes, well, do you want to... uh... do you want to join?"

"You can count on me," Nishinoya answered without a moment's hesitation, his hair dripping, a smile all teeth and his thumb planted on his chest, where the words 'the strength of a thousand men' reigned in large black brushstrokes on the jersey stuck to his body.

"Fuck, no!", Ryuu complained, "I promised Chikara I'd help him... If I don't go, he'll kill me!"

Despite his complaints, Asahi hadn't stopped smiling.

So… one moment Nishinoya was with his head under the freezing water, the next moment his blood was boiling all over his body as he shared the court with Asahi.

SLAM!

The spike got a point and while Daichi's reassuring "Don't mind, don't mind!" resounded on the other side of the net for the benefit of Suga who couldn't receive the ball, Nishinoya threw himself towards Asahi, screaming like hell.

Even those who were watching the match on the sidelines joined in, rejoicing to the full lungs.

Nishinoya heard nothing but Asahi's voice along with his own and saw nothing but Asahi's hands around his shoulders. Dark, against his skin, strong, gentle.  
Hands which drew him closer in a rather rough way.   
And in a tremendously exciting way.  
Despite the sweat and the screaming and the tugging.

Nishinoya was overflowing with happiness.  
He said to himself that was all he needed, he didn't ask for more. All that was enough for him.

The match started again, and his focus shifted to the game.  
He and Asahi together were a war machine.  
Well, not always, of course. It was two against two, so Nishinoya was supposed to spike too. If he was super-agile and super-flexible as a libero (a 'super-libero’, in short), as a spiker, well, he was inevitably uncoordinated and inexperienced. Nothing super, in short.  
Yet it was thrilling to hit a ball tossed by Asahi and to feel that even with all their shortcomings, there was an unparalleled complicity that united them; a complicity that increased their strength making it that of a thousand men!  
Nor did they need to speak in the court, or to do any sort of signal code.  
Nishinoya was extraordinarily silent when it was not a matter of rejoicing for a point, and in that silence he clearly felt his breath aligning with Asahi's breath.  
He could not give himself a clearer explanation; he simply knew that he was breathing along with Asahi in every flexing of his calves, in every jump, in every spike. He just knew when Asahi's heart stopped for fear or pumped harder for expectation or exploded with frustration; because his heart also beat in unison.  
Nishinoya was aware that he could connect with his companions on the court, but only with Asahi the connection was so inexplicably deep. Well, perhaps, at this point not so inexplicably.

"Asahi-san!"

All he had to do was shout that name. Nishinoya jumped up and tossed the ball. High and not too far from the net, as Asahi liked.  
And the Ace spiked it and scored.  
Nishinoya was filled with affection and pride.

"Woooh! It was perfect, Noya! Perfect!"

Nishinoya felt everything warm, his cheeks, his chest, right down to his fingertips, and nodded, unable to hold back the laughter that went up his throat and exploded with satisfaction.

Not just because his toss was perfect, but because it was the result of endless hours of training with Asahi, hours soaked in sweat and the desire to perfect themselves, one with the help of the other.  
He continued to laugh, a liberating laugh, because there, on the court, together with Asahi, in the intimacy of that “two against two”, Nishinoya felt all doubts and all embarrassment dissolve.  
It was simply the two of them.  
He was there to do what he did best: guarding Asahi’s back.  
And to admire shamelessly Asahi’s beauty that Asahi could not see for himself and that he often hid under a lack of confidence. How many times had Nishinoya scolded him for that! And how many more times he would do it... There, on the court, Asahi’s beauty came out uncompromisingly.  
Asahi suddenly turned to him... And the so determined glance he gave Nishinoya gave him the creeps.

Nishinoya felt so refreshed that when he received a spike from Daichi, he threw himself into a choreographed "RHOLLING THUNDER!" (and he mentally thanked Kyoko-san for reminding him to wear his knee and elbow pads, because that was a hard court - a whole other story!), and the ball stayed in play.

"Nishinoya-kun!!"

The girls' screams were practically instantaneous.  
They must have been there for a while, he didn't notice though. Apparently, they were cheering a little bit for one team, a little bit for the other, getting excited about every action that changed the outcome of the game.  
There was Yachi with her hands to her mouth, and there was his divine Kyoko-san, of course, as impassive as ever. There was the beautiful Aiha-senpai. And Michimiya-san, of course, who was jumping among all of them, in a lovely exaltation.

That's too bad. Too bad, he said to himself, that he only had eyes for Asahi.  
Not that he was indifferent to them, of course. After all, they were all excited about him. But old Nishinoya Yuu would ridiculously melt and fool around with each one of them.  
It's a good thing that Ryuu wasn't there to witness what he would call the greatest waste of humanity.

"Azumaneee!!!!"

Apparently it wasn't just him they were excited about.

Asahi spiked a very powerful diagonal, and a moment later Michimiya's voice went high over the others.

Asahi looked towards her, raising his arm in victory, and then immediately turned towards him. Nishinoya held his breath.  
Asahi's cheeks were hot and his smile was breathtaking.  
Nishinoya suddenly felt important to him.  
Loaded with adrenaline, Asahi rushed over to him, all high-five and pats on the back.  
Nishinoya replied, too, with his typical enthusiasm.  
Deep down inside, he began to wonder if he maybe was too selfish.  
Because the truth was that all that wasn't enough. Not at all. He still wanted to feel important to Asahi. Again and again. And in many ways.  
He wanted much, so much more.

*

It was terribly hot. His head burnt under the blazing sun, his throat begged for even a drop of water and a dry powder rose with every step.

Still, when Daichi heard Michimiya's voice on the sidelines, all the weariness slipped from his shoulders in a couple of seconds.  
A couple of seconds that had the sound of his name so delightfully pronounced: "Sawamuraaa!!!"

His feet became lighter, his arms moved fast to spike the ball and a smile of triumph was drawn on his face even before he scored.

"Yeah!!! Daichiii!!!!" Suga was upon him and Daichi embraced him euphorically, wishing to hold Michimiya in his arms like this, instead, and dare the impossible.

The game began again and Daichi felt invincible.

It wasn't the first time the girls followed their match, but it was the first time they were so close.  
In a priceless state of grace, Daichi was able to concentrate on every single detail of the game, and at the same time he could hear Michimiya's voice distinctly over the others; he could hear her laughing, raving, holding her breath.  
He was playing well.  
She was there shouting his name, and he and Suga were in perfect harmony.

But on the other side were Asahi and Nishinoya, and together they were practically unassailable.

It wasn't so much the fact that he couldn't receive that ball, but it was the way she screamed out a name that wasn't his that hurt him the most.

"Azumaneee!!!!"

Everyone cheered randomly, participating in the most beautiful actions, because after all it was just a training match, a two against two between four Karasuno players.  
He felt terribly wrong, though.  
Every "Azumane" that came out of Michimiya’s mouth, hit him in the face like an unreceivable spike.  
The weight of his defeats began to become greater than the weight of his victories; and even though she continued to cheer a little for them a little for the others, Asahi’s name began to weigh far more than his own.  
Daichi wasn't the type to fear his opponent, on the contrary; and in Asahi's case he used to find himself admiring him, whether he was on this side or the other side of the net.  
But that day, Suga's "Calm down, Daichi" couldn’t calm him down at all: his view got narrower and narrower, and at a certain point he seemed to see nothing but his own frustration.

Yamaguchi’s whistle, who had lent himself to arbitrage, came mercilessly. The win of two sets out of two was sanctioned for the opponents.

Daichi exhaled, trying to calm himself down. It all made no sense. It wasn't like him.

Michimiya ran towards them and his salivation was reset to zero.  
She handed him a towel.  
"You did great! All of you! You were all great!"  
And then she gave one to Asahi. And another one to Suga.

“All great”. Sure.

"My goodness, you guys are all on a high level!" he heard, probably from Aihara, while someone was yanking him, maybe Kinoshita, maybe Hinata.

At least Nishinoya must have enjoyed that crowd bath, if you could talk about crowds.

"Nishinoya-kun! You sure know how to entertain the audience! That 'Rolling thunder' of yours was great!", Chizuru commented, refraining from laughing in his face and yet sincerely complimenting him.

"Hahaha! You're right", Suga interfered, "To be in front of him not a walk in the park... Our libero is phenomenal!"

They all laughed, and even though Daichi only wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, he was surprised to see Nishinoya unable to speak, dazed, almost embarrassed. The only thing he seemed able to do in front of all that attention was to laugh in a strident, somewhat mechanical way.  
Yet he was the center of attention, as he had always wanted. And what the hell, he and Asahi had won!  
His eyes fell on Asahi and even there something was sort of wrong: the Ace stood still on the sidelines, while the other boys - and the other girls - couldn't wait to congratulate him.  
It's okay that he was a shy and reserved big guy, but why did he have that nervous, even dissatisfied expression?! Daichi didn't understand anything anymore. (Aaaa this makes so much more sense now, how sweet!! /)*u*(\ )

"Guys, I'm going to draw the next two teams!" Yachi tried to make herself heard.

"And now that we're here too... mixed teams!", Aihara winked.

"Yes!" shouted Hinata, Kinoshita, and Narita, out of control.

"Anyway..." Yachi began, pulling the first card out of the bag Shimizu had prepared. "Michimiya-senpai!"

"Here!" Michimiya replied, stepping forward and starting to stretch her muscles.

"...and with you on the team there will be..."

It would be nice, Daichi thought. Playing with her like when they were kids. When there wasn't that stupid knot in his stomach to complicate things.

"...with... Asahi-san!"

Asahi was hailed by the rest of the boys as a hero.

"Only if... if you want to play again, Asahi-san," Yachi shyly asked him.

"Well yes… of course!" he replied, reeling from the strange reflective mood he was in shortly after the game. "After all, it'll be like training for the movie... from fiction to real life... and vice versa," he chuckled.

Yachi nodded with satisfaction. "That's great! And you'll play against... Hinata-kun!"

"Yeeee!", the latter's cry rose up, towering above Kageyama's grumbling.

"...who will be on the team with... Aihara-senpai!!!!"

There was some commotion.  
Kageyama raved at the top of his lungs and was promptly reprimanded by Suga for his lack of manners: okay, he wanted to play, but his reaction was really uncool!  
The boys, envious and euphoric, surrounded Hinata, who was as red as a tomato and didn't know how to approach - in a random order - a girl, a senpai, on the court.

"Stand up for yourself, Shouyo!" cried Nishinoya as he sat on the grass next to Daichi and passed a towel through his sweaty hair.

Michimiya approached Asahi and said something in his ear; he smiled and nodded.

Daichi suddenly felt uncomfortable and settled down better.  
The game was about to begin and it was going to be a long one.

The service was Asahi's. Just before the start whistle, Daichi swore that he was looking in his direction.  
He felt called into question; he felt jealous as he did not want to feel.  
Then Nishinoya, beside him, swallowed loudly and shouted a "Nice serve!" of encouragement.  
Perhaps, after all, Daichi was wrong. And Asahi hadn't looked at him, but a random point to concentrate.  
He was getting paranoid.

The game began. As was to be expected, Hinata went haywire for the whole first part.

"Will you calm down, you idiot?!" Kageyama shouted from the sidelines, "I'm coming over there and taking your place!"

No one knew Hinata better than Kageyama. He somehow had the power to calm him down and make him find if not a complicity, at least a certain rhythm with his partner, Ahiara senpai, who patiently tried to adapt to his disruptive energy and - until then - a bit of a mess.

Nothing to do with the simplicity with which Asahi and Michimiya communicated with each other.  
Although they still had a lot to build, they seemed to understand each other without too much effort.  
Daichi witnessed the dance of encouragements, short hugs and looks with which they supported each other throughout the match.  
From the movie set to the court.  
From bad to worse.  
He cast an eye over Nishinoya, who was biting his lip, his gaze intent, almost maniacal, on the game.  
He came back to watch the game, too.  
Asahi had just made a direct ace. Daichi felt filled with pride, despite everything. Asahi was his friend. And he was an extraordinary player. If it hadn't been for his chicken-like personality, he would have been perfect.  
Well, maybe Asahi was already better than him.  
He looked at him closely. He was tall, sure. And he was well-built on his arms and legs... But he himself was too, after all.

"Nishinoya, tell me," Daichi got closer to Nishinoya, "What do you see in Asahi?"

"Eeep?!", the other one jumped up, "I don't... Why do you ask me that?"

"No, I mean, you've always admired him... So?", he asked him more impatiently than he wanted to.

"Well... He's... Yes, well, he's...", he started gesturing nervously, "...like this... And like that!... I mean…"

Nishinoya had never been good with explanations. Not at all.

Daichi once again turned his gaze to Asahi, who was laughing genuinely, with one hand behind his head and a few disorderly locks against his tanned shoulders.

"Ah, forget it. He's a handsome guy, no question. Looking at him, after the first impression, I don't see why everyone shouldn't lose their heads over him!"

"Everyone?! Everyone who?", Nishinoya seemed to stiffen up.

Daichi couldn't answer that question.

"Oh! Don't tell me you like Asahi-san?!", Nishinoya continued in a frantic whisper and seemed vaguely horrified.

Daichi didn't think much about it, because he was the most horrified. "Don't talk nonsense! The girls, I mean! Girls like Asahi."

"Yeah, of course they do… There isn't a single girl who wouldn't like him!", Nishinoya said, slightly out of it.

"Yeah...", Daichi murmured, "Not a single girl..."

The silence between them fell again and luckily Nishinoya didn't seem to want to break it either.

It was true. How not to love Asahi?  
He was big and his beard was a bit too suspicious for someone his age.  
And yet his eyes spoke clearly: he was reliable, kind, caring, respectful, and easy-going.  
The more adjectives came to his mind, the more Daichi felt like losing the ground beneath himself.

Because everything was really starting to become a problem. An unbearable problem.

***

Enough! He couldn't take it any longer! He had to tell him. He wanted to tell him.  
One way or another.  
If risk hadn't been his job, he'd never have been the libero of the team about to go to nationals. And winning them!

Nishinoya rubbed his face with both hands and prepared for battle.  
His heart was pounding and he was determined to find Asahi and tell him that yes, fuck, he had feelings for him. Feelings that were driving him out of his mind, and that was at the same time wonderful, upsetting, unbearable.

‘I like you, Asahi-san.’

In the afternoon, they'd filmed a number of scenes, the sun had set a long time ago, and in the delirium of dinner, showers and cleaning, Nishinoya had lost sight of him.

"Has anyone seen where Asahi-san has gone?" he asked everyone in the dining room like him.

Tsukishima turned to him with a volume that wasn't even a tenth of what Nishinoya had used. "I think I saw him going out into the backyard. He had the script in his hand."

‘I like you, Asahi-san.’

"Thank you, Tsukishima! Remember, your senpai owes you a popsicle!"

"I can live without that," Tsukishima shrugged.

Nishinoya was too focused on his goal to take it out on him.

‘I like you, Asahi-san.’

He was about to walk out the door when Ennoshita called him back, "Noya, please go take out the garbage."

"Of course!" he answered without even thinking about it.

Never mind, the short ride from the house to the gate at the end of the driveway (and back) would have helped him clear his head even more.  
Easily done. He carried out the task assigned to him, and when he returned taking the direction towards the back of the house, he found himself passing through the garden.

‘I like you, Asahi-san.’

"How cute you are, Azumane!"

Michimiya's voice blocked him on the spot.  
Before he even could consciously make a decision about it, Nishinoya hid behind a thick bush.

Asahi-san 'cute'? What the hell?

Michimiya continued, "You don't have to be embarrassed, it's perfectly normal!"

‘Perfectly normal’?!

"What a shame!" Asahi's voice was low and slightly vented. "I never thought I'd be able to say this to anyone..."

‘This,’ what?!  
Nishinoya peeped out of the leaves and looked at the scene: Asahi was sitting, his shoulders curved, his face hidden behind his palms. Michimiya looked at him with an affectionate smile. They were sitting on the wooden balcony all around the house and the script sheets were scattered around them, abandoned.  
Fuck. Those weren't script lines, no. Asahi was really, genuinely embarrassed.  
Michimiya approached him and moved Asahi’s hands from his face.  
Asahi looked at her like a little animal in the woods.  
She whispered something to him that Nishinoya couldn't hear, lost in the girl's tinkling chuckle.  
Asahi slowly nodded, his eyes fixed on her, completely unarmed.

Shit, Nishinoya couldn't hear more than a few syllables, and he couldn't get closer. Coming out at a time like that was completely out of the question. And yet Nishinoya had to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Do you think so?" Asahi asked with a hopeful breath of voice.

"Absolutely. And I will always support you."

Nishinoya felt like he was dying.  
It seemed like his heart collapsed on itself in a choked hiccup.  
No, wait a minute, that noise wasn't his heart, it was more...

"Captain! What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Sshhh!" said Daichi, reaching Nishinoya from the tree he was hiding behind and cowering beside him. "I can... I can ask you the same thing...", he whispered, desperately trying to stall, his face flushed despite the darkness.

In the silence between them, Asahi and Michimiya's laughter echoed like thunder.

Then Nishinoya couldn't keep quiet any longer. He turned towards him, at the same time Daichi took courage and opened his mouth.

"Don't tell me you like Asahi-san too?" "Do you like Michimiya too, by any chance?" they asked themselves in unison, quietly and urgently.

They froze for a moment.  
Then the eyes of both of them grew aware.

"Oh, no no no no no no! Dai-san! I... uh... just don't."

"I don't like Asahi, no", smiled Daichi, with an affectionate and yet sad smile, shaking his head, "I like Michimiya".

Oh.

As if to do it on purpose, at that very moment Michimiya spoke again: "Now you have to say it out loud, Azumane."

Daichi shut up.

"Again?" they heard Asahi answer.

Nishinoya had got his heart in his throat.  
He turned quickly to Daichi, and said quietly, "Geez, Dai-san, if that's the case, you have to come forward!"

Daichi was about to answer him, but she spoke again, and they both listened to them again: "Yes, Azumane. You must say it properly."

"No, I can't..."

"Go on, say it."

"I lo-..."

‘No, please don't.’

"I love… you. I love you!"

No.  
The silence that followed was unreal, despite the smug laughter of Michimiya in the background. Unreal and stabbing.

After a few moments, it was Daichi who broke it.  
"How could I?" he muttered, resigned. "You saw it, didn't you?"

The frost that was spreading in his chest would have already been a sufficient answer for Nishinoya. "...Yes"

"I can't, I can't!", shouted Asahi.

What did Asahi mean ‘I can’t’?! He just said it, didn’t he??!!  
‘Damn it, Asahi, be a man right now or you'll make it even harder for me...’

"You can!" Michimiya insisted, "Come on, I'm here! And I'll always be here."

They exchanged other indecipherable little words, which Nishinoya would not have been able to grasp anyway, blurred into the whirlwind of anguish that devoured him.  
Even the captain seemed paralyzed: he was staring straight ahead.

Then Asahi asked her something in her ear and Michimiya jumped up, looked around and started gesturing frantically.

"Me? No no no no no no! I can't!"

"Come on, do it for me..." he smiled at her, sly.

Nishinoya's head was spinning. Was it even possible that Asahi was able to make such an expression?

"Ok!" The girl put her hands on Asahi's shoulders and breathed deeply. "All I can think about is you, I'm... I'm in love with you! Ah, no! I can't, I can't!", she withdrew immediately afterwards.

"You just did!" Asahi chuckled, smug. "See how easy it is?"

Then the world stopped.

Michimiya threw her arms around Asahi's neck. She hugged him. And while she mumbled something incomprehensible against his shoulder, he held her gently.

The world stopped completely.

"I've had enough," declared Daichi, leaning against the tree trunk near them. "And you?"

Nishinoya, still squatting, lost for a moment his balance backwards. He really didn't know how to fight back.

"Besides, it's not right to eavesdrop here," Daichi concluded, before he turned his back and walked away.

‘I like you, Asahi-san.’

Nishinoya stood up, leant on the tree, sighed, and let his head back against the trunk.

So that's how it was.  
After all that, there was no point in confessing anymore.  
Why would he say something that would only scare Asahi and compromise their friendship? Because he and Asahi were... friends.  
Shit.  
Nishinoya wanted to keep on having a relationship with him, even if... fuck. Even if it wasn't the kind he wanted.

Nishinoya didn't even notice How much his nails were digging into the bark.

Yes, he could handle it.

He teared away from the trunk and walked away quietly.

‘I like you so much, Asahi-san.’

***

Who knows what time it was. 10:00 PM, maybe 11:00. Or maybe even 2:00 in the morning.

Daichi had dragged himself to the lake, stayed there for what seemed like a while and threw some stones into it.  
Now, on the way back, he found himself in the same place where Michimiya had told Asahi that she was in love with him.  
Michimiya in love.  
At that moment there was no one there: not a script, not a laugh. Just the sound of crickets.  
He sighed.  
Decided it was bedtime.

"Daichi!"

Asahi's voice caught him treacherously. He turned to look at him, even if he would rather ignore him and keep walking.

"Ha ha! Oh God, Daichi, you look like you've seen a ghost..."

Who knows what he looked like at the time. Probably dark and serious.

"Maybe...", he grinned, wanting to at least tease that wimp of Asahi.

"P-please, don’t… I'll get really scared, you know..."

It almost made Daichi laugh. But he didn't laugh.  
Daichi didn't say anything. He turned his back and walked again.

"Daichi, I've been looking for you since earlier..." Asahi got to him completely. "Not even Suga could find you anywhere."

Suga... Suga was totally wrong. It wasn't him Michimiya was in love with.

"Are... are you avoiding me or something?"

Daichi looked up at Asahi, and finally really listened to him.

"Because I don't know, you've been strange since this afternoon and I hope... I hope I haven't done or said something that..."

"Not at all", Daichi interrupted him, "You probably caught me overthinking because I'm afraid I won't be able to bring the best team possible to nationals. We’ll work hard it when this movie thing will be over."

He was avoiding Asahi, then? Was he really that mean?

"Daichi, you're the captain who got our team to the nationals. One step at a time," Asahi smiled.

What a fool. Asahi wasn't to blame. No one was to blame.

"And it’s the glass-hearted giant to tell me?" he chuckled.

"What kind of nickname..." Asahi mumbled.

"Would you prefer 'the infallible ace'?" Daichi teased.

"You're nice as usual"

"Haha, of course. And you are right. One step at a time"

There was a moment of silence. Asahi had a slight smile on his lips, his gaze straight ahead.

"And then our third year will end and..."

"And you're the usual dramatic," Daichi interrupted him, as he always did in situations like that. Asahi, after all, that's how he was. Then he continued, "Well, some people are already clear-headed. Look at Ennoshita."

"Yeah"

"What about you? You could be an actor!"

"Shut up! A guy like me who gets worked up about the smallest things...? No, being an actor doesn’t suit me!"

"You really don't seem nervous when you're standing there in front of the camera. I mean, no more than usual. And you weren't nervous on the court today."

Asahi just gasped. Maybe he didn't expect such a comment. Then he relaxed and his smile was open. "No, I wasn't," he admitted.

"You two really have a connection," Daichi added, in a low voice.  
Why didn't he stop telling nonsense? Why did he want to hurt himself?

Asahi blushed, ran his hand through his hair, raised his eyes, lowered them, and looked at him again as if to seek confirmation.  
"You think so?" he asked.

"It's obvious." Daichi intended to reassure Asahi and still his voice echoed stabbing into his own bowels. It was clear there was something between those two, why not say it out loud?

"I wish... I wish I could express my feelings outside the court," Asahi said, confessing all his frustration.

"Well, you seem to be doing well."

Asahi suddenly looked at him puzzled. "You think so?"

Daichi looked at him in the eye. "Surely better than me..."

Asahi continued to scrutinize him without understanding. Then he suddenly seemed to realize something and his face lit up. "Ah, you mean Mi-...!"

"Never mind", Daichi cut short. "Forget it".  
He patted him kindly at the height of the biceps and smiled at him, sincerely.  
Then, leaving Asahi somewhat dumbfounded, he finally gave him his back and walked away.

It was too much. It was too much even for him.

***

"I mean, he said… to her… 'I love you'?!"

"Yeah... I mean, I think so. He was weird and his voice wasn't too firm... but... fuck, yeah! What am I going to hope for? He said it, yeah."

"Shit"

Tanaka stared straight ahead. He seemed in shock.

Seeing his friend react like that, Nishinoya really realized it: Asahi had said 'I love you' to Michimiya.

They were sitting in a corner against the kitchen wall, in the dark, on the cold tiles.

"Noya-san...", Ryuu dared to raise his eyes to him, "How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling, you ask?" Nishinoya was playing with his own fingers. He couldn't look Tanaka in the face the whole time. "It's like receiving a ball. One of those tough ones. And it hurts. It fucking hurts. And then you look at your arms and there's no bruises. That's how I am feeling."

Tanaka nodded. "What are you gonna do now?"

His eyes stung. Nishinoya rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, turned to his friend and tried to smile.

"What can I do? Nothing. If Asahi is happy with her, that's fine with me. Michimiya is a good girl."  
There was a moment of silence and then Nishinoya closed his eyes and let his head go backwards. "Fuck..." He was smiling. And he didn't stop smiling even when he punched his fist into the floor. "Fuck! I'm so hopeless!"

Tanaka didn't take his eyes off him, a sincere smile that didn't seem to fade too. "So this is what it means to love a person."

"Ryuu, please! Now don't get cool with cheesy phrases."

"No, Noya, I'm serious! You've grown up."

"Oh well, then growing up sucks."

They both laughed, until even the laughter was swallowed up by the silence of the house.

"Come on, let's go to bed," Tanaka said, standing up and reaching out his hand.

Nishinoya didn't think twice about grabbing it and standing up in turn.

They reached the bedroom, where everybody was already snoring.  
Nishinoya slid the door open and peeped in.

He froze. Asahi's futon was empty.

"He's not here"

"Huh?" Tanaka looked inside, too.

"You go," Nishinoya whispered to him, feeling a sudden urge to find Asahi, "I want to talk to him."

"To tell him what?" Tanaka stopped him by the arm.

"I don't know, whatever. I need to talk to him."

Tanaka let him go. "Okay," he smiled in solidarity.

Nishinoya made an effort to reciprocate that smile. Then he gave him his back and slid down the corridor...

He wanted to see Asahi.  
To prove to himself that he could do it. That it was possible to stay friends and move on.  
He wanted to hear Asahi’s voice, warm and low, to have tangible proof that it was all true. That he had no hope. That it was okay, too.  
He didn't want to let a minute go by. He couldn't afford to waste time lingering in that damn pain.  
So he just kept smiling.

He kept smiling even when he finally found Asahi sitting on the porch looking at the moon.  
‘You're thinking about her, aren't you?’

"Nishinoya!"

It fucking hurt, though.  
Did Asahi seem... happy to see him? He had an amazed, glowing expression.  
Maybe it was just the moon.

"What are you doing here?" Asahi added, smiling, and that smile of his was like a punch in the mouth of Nishinoya's stomach.

Now that he was there, what would he say to him?

"Asahi-san!"  
That's what he said to him, cheerfully, like it was nothing. He also sat down next to him.  
"You can't sleep either?"

Asahi shook his head, amused. "Maybe it’s the full moon. They say it takes sleep away."

Shit, Asahi, you're making it really fucking hard.

"Hmm... Or is it because your heart is racing? I mean, maybe you can’t sleep ‘cause you are nervous about something?"

"Heart r-racing"? Nervous, you say?"  
Asahi's big eyes became even bigger, if possible.  
"About... about what?"

"Ah, I don't know. Maybe something pleasant?"

"P-pleasant"? Like what?"  
Asahi had approached him imperceptibly, he even seemed to be on the verge of saying something, and this stirred Nishinoya up inside.

"Ha ha ha! You know what, Asahi-san! I mean, with all the girls drooling over you lately... Maybe, I don't know... you have some preference?"

The smile died on Asahi's lips.

"Girls?"

"Yes! ...Well? Do you have a preference?"

Nishinoya was cornering him, and he knew that. It wasn't right, Asahi seemed embarrassed. He still wanted an answer. Out loud.

"I don’t," Asahi cut short, lowering his gaze.

"Come on, Asahi-saaan! Don't be shy!"

‘Tell me, please. I like Michimiya. Tell me once and for all. I need to hear it from you. I need to hear that I'm a friend important enough to you to deserve your trust. That's all I'm asking. Kill me. And my heart's gonna get over it one way or another.’

"Stop it, Noya."

He was a tough guy, but he could have gotten the truth out of him.

"Let's do this, I'll guess. So, let's see... What's your type?"

‘Mine is you, Asahi-san.’

Asahi looked at him with an indecipherable expression. Even focused.

‘Shit, now that I think about it, I don't even have a 'type'. It's just you.’

"So? What's your type?"

For a moment, Nishinoya swore that he saw a flash of challenge shining in Asahi's eyes.

"Short and loud"

Nishinoya was about to shout, ‘It's Michimiya!’, pretending to guess a name he already knew, when...  
Wait a moment.  
Short and loud? What the hell did he mean by that?  
Michimiya was pretty tall. Sure, she was loud enough, not always, but could she really be considered loud, Michimiya? Oh, God, yeah, she was shorter than Asahi, but she was a girl, that was pretty normal. And Asahi was very tall.

Could there have been some absurd misunderstanding? Maybe he was wrong all that time? But if it wasn't Michimiya, then who...?

"My type also loves volleyball more than anything," Asahi said slowly, in a serious tone, without stopping looking him in the eye.

Okay. Then it couldn't have been that bright-eyed brunette he has sometimes spotted wandering around Asahi in class when Nishinoya visited him during the lunch break: she had nothing to do with volleyball.  
On the other side, Michimiya really loved volleyball, of course! What the hell, she was the girls volleyball team’s captain!

What if he was wrong, if he had misunderstood a couple of hours earlier behind that bush, if the girl Asahi liked wasn't Michimiya... (It's hard to even think about it at that point, but...). If it wasn't Michimiya...   
Actually, all the girls on the girls' team were pretty tall. Oh my God, Sasaki Chizuru, maybe?  
Nishinoya shook his head quickly, as if to chase that thought away. No, Sasaki-san was anything but loud.  
All of a sudden he froze.  
He looked at Asahi, in shock.  
Asahi seemed to hold his breath.  
Nishinoya approached him a little more, determined to ask him.

"Yachi-san?!"

Asahi looked at Nishinoya for a long harrowing moment.  
Then in reply he puffed and seemed to implode on himself.

"Is that... is that her?!"

Asahi got up slowly.

"I'm hot. I need to get some air."

"But..."

"I really need to get some air..."

"Is that... is that her?!"

Asahi turned towards him, and Nishinoya's words died in his mouth.  
He looked angry. Sad, perhaps.  
Something was eluding him. He fucking missed it.

"It's not her, no", said Asahi in a dull voice. Then he added: "And by the way, you've got a lot of girls drooling after you too. Today, after the match, surrounded by them, you were in your element... You're happy about it, aren’t you?"

What? His element? Happy? What the hell?

"They are not drooling at all... and then..."

He didn't know how to go on. Nor did he know how to respond to Asahi's smile, a bittersweet, resigned smile.

Then Asahi turned and walked away into the garden. "Be well, Noya."

Well? How could he be well?!  
Asahi was in love with someone else and this someone else could only be Michimiya. To hell with it. Obviously Asahi found her short. Period.  
The worst thing about the whole thing was that he couldn't even get Asahi to trust him. In the end, he wasn't even worthy of being Asahi's friend. No, of course not. That's why Daichi was there, and Suga too. Oh, shit. Was he indulging in self-pity?!

Nishinoya went straight to bed.  
He was confused, terribly confused. He wanted to hug Asahi, like after scoring a point; and at the same time he wanted to grab him by the shirt, shake him and shout all his frustration at him. Like after that fucking Dateko loss.

That night Nishinoya slept next to an empty futon, wondering why the hell Asahi never came back to fill it.  
His voice came out thin, in the dark, almost desperate: "Asahi-san... Why?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everybody!
> 
> I am back!
> 
> First of all I’d like to officially thank my angel Tempuriio!!! Tempuriio has been so precious to me, offering to beta read, edit and help with my English (that is not my first language). I treasure any single suggestion, change of words to better suit the context, fixed typos and such. <3 This chapter is at a totally different level and I can’t be more grateful!!! I was offered to be helped with the next (and last) one and the previous ones too, so if you feel a different quality it’s thanks to Tempuriio! 
> 
> I wrote this story a lot of time ago. Now Haikyuu has ended and I’m so grateful I had the honour to read and love it all this time. When I wrote this story I didn’t expect that Furudate would think about the future of every character. So… I made some mistakes, like the future job of Ennoshita! I tried to be in canon when I wrote it, but still. Please, close an eye on this!  
> Coming back to the chapter, things are taking an interesting turn, don't you think? How do you think it's going to turn out?  
> The next chapter will be the last one.  
> You think Noya's gonna make it to confess his feelings? And how will things go for Daichi? I'd love to know what you think.  
> Please, comment this story!
> 
> InuAraXHaikyuu
> 
> \---
> 
> In the next chapter:
> 
> "Have you... have you ever been kissed? For real, I mean..."  
> Asahi shook his head, timidly.  
> "Because I haven’t. Never," Nishinoya continued, taking Asahi’s hand, his eyes glued to Asahi’s eyes, as if in a trance.  
> "Really?", Asahi whispered.  
> Nishinoya nodded. "And I wish..." He couldn't go on, though. Instead, he raised Asahi's hand to the level of his face and kissed Asahi’s fingers.  
> Asahi shivered. "W-what do you wish...?"


	5. End of the filming! (...and a new beginning)!

Sunday

"May I...?"

"Oh, sorry! Of course, Yacchan."

The girl seemed to be in trouble, tense on her toes with a little sponge in one hand and a make-up case in the other.  
Asahi suddenly lowered himself to her height, giving her an apologetic smile, one of those sweet, insecure smiles of his; yet breath taking.  
And Nishinoya’s breath was taken away too, of course. His breath and another shard of his heart.

Yachi passed the sponge on Asahi's face, carefully.

It was the last day of shooting, the sun was high and Nishinoya felt like shit.  
There was some tension around and everyone had their own things to do: someone set the headlights, someone else set the sound system, someone set the props; Ennoshita was now only speaking in monosyllables. It was the last day and still several scenes had to be shot. Everything had to go smoothly.

Nishinoya could only think of the night before, of Asahi and Michimiya hugging in the porch, of his strange dialogue with Asahi, of that bitter feeling in the pit of his stomach that hadn't gone away all night. Asahi had never returned to their room all night and as a result Nishinoya had a couple of dark marks under his eyes.

At that moment, Nishinoya had a tangle of wires in his arms; Tanaka had asked him for them, like five minutes earlier, but Nishinoya didn't seem to want to move from there.  
He just stood there looking at Asahi with a frowning expression.

That morning, Asahi hadn't had breakfast with them and had only appeared on set when the others had already started to set up.  
It was clear that Asahi had done everything he could to make himself presentable: his hair was still wet for the shower and he smelled good.  
Or at least it had to be. That perfume of his: a mix of coconut bath foam and tanned skin. (As long as tanned skin had some sort of perfume...).  
Focus, Noya.  
Well, Asahi must have done everything he could to disguise the fact that he hadn't slept all night, but Nishinoya just knew that Asahi hadn't slept on his futon at all.  
(The futon next to his, to be picky).   
To his attentive eye - because Nishinoya could read inside him better than anyone else - Asahi appeared nervous, elusive, gloomy. About to... "explode like a pressure cooker"? Oh, God, maybe that wasn't the right example. Not in Asahi's case. A pressure cooker was probably too extreme. Maybe more like " a pressure cooker that threatens to explode and then ends up imploding on itself" You know, something like that.  
Either way, it was clear that something was wrong.  
Asahi hadn't said a word to Nishinoya since he arrived. Not a single word. He barely even gave him a glance. Was he angry with him? Why?  
Something was definitely wrong.  
Then... where did Asahi spend the night? With a girl, maybe?!  
Nishinoya turned frantically to look at Michimiya, no more than ten meters away from him, looking at her face for clues. The girl's candid giggle, in response to something Ennoshita had told her, was like a wipe of the slate of his own doubts. 

No. Not Michimiya. Not that night, anyway.

Nishinoya held his breath.  
Maybe the girl Asahi liked was really Yachi-san?

Not far away, Yachi started tapping the sponge on Asahi's forehead, on his cheekbones, along his neck, even on his shoulders, which were tanned against the plunging and uneven neckline of his t-shirt.  
Nishinoya bit his lip. Fuck, Asahi was handsome. Even with his face marked by exhaustion and that little wrinkle between his frowning eyes. His skin glowed in the sunlight in a damn sexy way.

"It's almond oil," Yachi explained, slightly withdrawing his hand, "It's to simulate sweat..."

"S-sweat?!"

She nodded, with a giggle. "The scene Ennoshita is about to shoot is right after the match, and the director wants to show that the character of Johnny has worked hard..."

"But I... I'm already sweating so much, Yacchan! Oh well, no sorry, I didn't mean... I mean... that's really disgusting, sorry!..." Asahi blushed miserably.

Nishinoya startled. So was it true?! Should he be jealous of Yachi then?

"Oh, don’t worry, this oil is brighter than your sweat... I mean, I didn't mean to belittle your sweat, Asahi-san! I mean, your sweat is fine... Oh, God, that's not what I meant... Oh, sorry, Azumane-senpai! Sorry, sorry!”

"I’m sorry too!"

Okay, no. Definitely not.

"Yachi-saan!"

Nishinoya heard Hinata's loud voice interrupt that absurd anxious-depressive dialogue.

"Yes, Hinata, what is it?"

"Your skin is so red! I think you got burned!"

Nishinoya was so focused on Asahi that he hadn't noticed. It was true, though: in the contrast of her little white shirt, Yachi's neck and arms looked phosphorescent. And it wasn't because of her excitement.

"Aaaah! It's true!" Yachi became alarmed, examining her arms. "In fact, I could feel it burning... It must have been all this sunshine. I'm not used to it! Ouch...", she complained, touching a particularly reddened spot at the base of her neck.

"Does it hurt?" Hinata approached her.

"A little... I'll have to put sunscreen on it. I have it here somewhere... Ah, here it is!", said Yachi triumphantly, pulling a tube out of the make-up case.

"I can... I can do it," Hinata said, without looking at her; and that wasn't a question.

Yachi blushed, clearly this time, all over her face, like a rash.  
And Hinata blushed, too.

Ah, geez. Ah. Okay. Then, no. There was no reason for Nishinoya to be jealous of little Yachi. Definitely.

"Let me take care of it," Kyoko-san stepped in, taking Yachi's cream off her hand and smiling motherly at her, without noticing Hinata's disappointment, who stammered, "Sh-Shimizu-senpai...", or Yachi's own slight discomfort, immediately replaced by her genuine amazement that a goddess of her stature would take care of a goofy little girl like her.

Nishinoya smiled in front of that: Kyoko-san was always very classy.  
Still with a smile on his face, he turned to look at Asahi. That's when he realised that Asahi was looking at him. As their eyes met, Asahi jerked and looked back.  
Was that possible?  
In spite of his racing heart, a cold feeling struck him suddenly and Nishinoya remained motionless looking at the back of Asahi's neck.  
Perhaps he was mistaken.  
Then Asahi turned towards him again, uncertain. And in the fraction of a second when they realized that they were unquestionably looking for each other, they both looked away, as if burned.  
No. Nishinoya wasn't wrong.

***

What was going on?

Sugawara looked around, alarmed.  
Ennoshita had given a five-minute break and he had resolved to take initiative: he would distribute juices so that everyone would stay hydrated and have no low blood sugar.  
Only everyone seemed to be going crazy.  
Ok, it was the last day of shooting and the schedule was tight, but the air around him was paradoxical. There wasn't a single one of them acting normal. And it showed anything but low blood sugar.

Daichi was in a black mood. That stubborn... He was convinced he'd heard Michimiya tell Asahi she was in love with him the night before. Michimiya in love with Asahi. What nonsense. It was obvious that it was just one big...

"Toss me a juice, Suga, please", the captain approached him, with a low voice and eyes down.

"Daichi, how should I tell you? It's obvious that this is just a big misunderstanding!"

"Yeah, whatever," he replied unconvinced, walking away with a pear juice in his hand.

"Noya-san, you really look like crap this morning."

Tanaka's voice made Sugawara automatically turn to Nishinoya.  
It was true. Even their libero - their energetic and unnaturally hyperactive libero - didn't sound in great shape that morning.

"Thank you very much, Ryuu, you're a good friend."

His eyes were even bigger than usual, his skin paler, his features sharper: Nishinoya was a bundle of nerves.

"Anytime!" Tanaka winked at him.

Then Suga saw Tanaka approach him and grab two cherry juices from his hands, to throw one to Nishinoya, who took it without saying a word.  
Okay.  
Silent Nishinoya was a whole new level of abnormality.

There was definitely something wrong that morning.

Suga turned around unarmed.  
Not far away from him was Michimiya sitting. The girl was spacing out, absentmindedly rubbing her hands. Suddenly she got up. Then she sat down again. She ran her hand through her hair. She shook her head.

What. Was. Happening.

Suga dared to come closer and leaned towards her. "Michimiya?"

"Huh?! What?", the girl jumped up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! It's just that you seem a little upset... Are you all right? Maybe you'd better have a drink", he smiled sympathetically (even though he didn’t understand a thing.) and handed her a peach juice.

"Oh, God, no! I could puke! Thanks anyway," she laughed, nervously.

Suga also laughed, mechanically, and still not understanding what was going on.

"Suga-san... can I have a juice, please?"

No. Not him too, please.  
Suga turned slowly and looked down, just enough to cross two lonely dog eyes.

"Hi-Hinata"? Is something wrong?"

"No... Nothing...", he slurred with a long face.

Okay, Suga, breathe.  
"Whatever it is... will work out," he tried to encourage him, not knowing what else to say.

"Yes, I know," replied Hinata, listlessly pressing the straw into the orange juice carton.

Suga was petrified as he watched his most vital kohai leave dragging his feet in the gravel.

Okaaaay. Suga had definitely missed something.  
And it was a whole new feeling: Suga never missed anything.

He looked around exasperated. Opposite him, sitting on a little wall, Asahi was bending over with his forearms on his knees, his hair slightly messy and looking handsome and rogue. He looked distraught, distressed, subjugated. All typical Asahi adjectives, but with a note of more desperation than usual.  
What the heck...?!  
Suga crossed the space between them in great stride and sat down next to Asahi.

"What the heck is going on?!"

"W-what?", Asahi gasped, taken by surprise.

"I mean, Asahi! There must be something! You're all weird this morning!", he vented, making a frustrated gesture towards the rest of his teammates.

"How should I know?" replied Asahi, with deer eyes.

"I don't know...", Suga deflated, giving him an apple juice. "You're the main character..." he tried to explain, even though it didn't make any sense.

"As if it mattered," mumbled Asahi, taking the juice distractedly.

Suga looked at him, his eyes narrowed. "What's happening to you?" he asked, inquisitive and concerned at the same time. "Some kind of self-esteem crisis?"

"No, no...", Asahi hurried to reply, with a nervous giggle, "I think I'm just a little tired."

Suga weighed up that answer. "Mmm... That would make some sense," he said, patting him on the back. "But... so tired that you wouldn't notice anything?" he seemed to scold him with a half-smile.

Asahi looked up at him. "About what?"

"...that Daichi likes Michimiya."

Asahi gouged out his eyes and all his tension vaporized instantly.  
"Are you serious?! That's great! Yes, because she... she likes him! Did you know that? Well, then it's done." Asahi seemed to feel a sort of childish vibrancy.

"Asahi!", chuckled Suga, shaking his head, "You really don't understand anything."

"What don't I understand?..." Asahi asked him with adorable honesty.

"Daichi thinks YOU like Michimiya."

Asahi opened his mouth wide. "W-what?! Me? Why on earth would I...? Oh, God, no! No no no no no no no no!"

Suga burst out laughing. And he was about to explain to him how that stubborn of Daichi had misunderstood everything and believed there was some sort of affection between Michimiya and Asahi, when he saw the latter suddenly shift his gaze and tense.  
Suga automatically turned to look in the same direction and what he saw explained many things to him.

"Nishinoya-kun! You're so cute! I'll put you in my purse and take you home!"

Not far from them, Nishinoya was surrounded by the girls. He must have said or done something to make them laugh, because they all seemed in a good mood. And it must have been Sasaki Chizuru who did the talking. She was so red in the face.

"Right, Chizuru-chan? Yuu is a wonderful boy!", Tanaka's sister, with her usual enthusiasm, ruffled Nishinoya's hair.

For his part, Nishinoya only laughed at the loudest volume. Too loud even by his standards. He was embarrassed. Clearly embarrassed. Or at least it was clear to Suga, who finally began to understand at least one of the things that were going on.

At that point Suga also saw what happened at that very moment. He didn't miss a single detail.

Nishinoya noticed that Asahi was watching him, stopped laughing, seemed to forget Saeko, Sasaki and the rest of his interlocutors, taking a couple of steps towards Asahi.  
Asahi, next to him, breathed loudly and suddenly stiffened, sprang to his feet, made a quick gesture of greeting towards Nishinoya, muttered an incomprehensible "Suga, excuse me", and walked away pretty quickly.  
Nishinoya looked down, visibly demoralized.

Suga felt great pity for him. And also for Asahi.  
"No, you don't understand anything, Asahi..." he muttered, even though the Ace couldn't hear him anymore.

Noisily drinking his pineapple juice through a straw, Suga began to fear for that last day of shooting. He hoped with all his heart that Ennoshita would keep his cool and be able to prevent even one of those dangerous mines from exploding ruinously.

***

"Nishinoya! I need you, come here, please."

Ennoshita's voice called him back to reality.  
"Here I am!" he replied, trying to keep the tone steady and making his way among the others.

They were about to shoot the last shot of the last scene, the love scene that two days earlier (it had only been two days?!) Nishinoya had helped Asahi to go over, just the two of them, in that room; that same room that had been turned into a film set at that very moment, and that was swarming with people, each of them with a very specific task.

"Please, guys, let's make a little less confusion," the director asked, taking his hat off and massaging his temple. "I know we're all exhausted: it's the last shot and we can't wait to celebrate the end of the film... but that's why I need maximum concentration right to the very end. This scene is very important to me. As I've already explained to some of you, it's a central scene in the movie, a very sensitive scene. I wouldn’t have liked to shoot it on the very last day, but we had to give priority to outside shots in case the good weather didn’t last. Well, here we are. Narita, Kinoshita! While you're setting up the camera for the reverse shot and while you, Tanaka, set the scene accordingly, I need to take a look at the lights. Noya, come here a moment.

In the general chorus of "Yes!", Nishinoya approached without saying anything.

"Yachi, you told me we need more light here?"

"Y-Yes, Ennoshita-san!" the girl replied, standing at attention and wrinkling her forehead, her eyes fixed on the scene, "The light is already very good, there's a soft glow that makes the moment perfect - it's evening and we're in Johnny's room. But... we need a little more light on Asahi-san's face."

Asahi-san.  
Nishinoya looked up at him: Asahi was standing in the middle of the room, in the position the director had told him to stay, so that he can arrange with Yachi which headlights needed to be used and at what angle. He was keeping his eyes low, his arms crossed, his shoulders closed forward. In the center of everyone’s attention and so far from wanting to be there.

"I agree. After all, Asahi is the protagonist of this scene. I want his face to be artfully lit."

They had been filming that scene for an hour already: they had filmed the larger point and Michimiya’s shot.  
Nishinoya had missed both: in order to save time, Ennoshita had asked him to dismantle the set on the previous location, while filming went on without a break; once finished, he had shown up on the new set and found himself behind everyone else, his view completely covered. Somehow he felt relieved. He had been able to spare himself the lines between Asahi and Michimiya, and especially the sharp pain in the pit of his stomach (or was it his heart?).

At that point, though, Nishinoya had been called back next to the director (damn Chikara!). He perfectly knew what they were going to shoot. The last crucial shot: Asahi's reverse one.

"In your reverse shot," said Ennoshita, taking Asahi aside, who insisted on not looking up, "what matters is your close-up. So, Asahi-san, feel free to let out all the emotions you feel coming. Noya will follow you with the reflective panel so that your face will be always well lit. Right, Noya?"

Nishinoya nodded, his eyes down. Asahi nodded too, without saying anything.  
Ennoshita looked at one and looked at the other and sighed, giving up understanding what was going on.

"Oh, in this shot," he added in a louder voice, so that everyone could hear it, "we're finally going to film the kiss between Johnny and Baby. So, Asahi, Michimiya... I would like the kiss to be as heartfelt as possible."

In the delirium of screams, applause, 'Uuuuh!' and 'Aaaaah!' that filled the room, Nishinoya felt all his blood leave his cheeks. He didn't even notice that Yachi had put the reflective panel in his hand and was telling him where to direct it.

"Guys, guys!" Ennoshita called them back to order, "Come on! A bit of professionalism here, please..."

Only then Nishinoya did realize that neither Asahi nor Michimiya had said a word; they both were pale. Probably as true and mutual as a feeling is, showing it in public is not the easiest thing in the world.

"So, is everyone ready?"

There was a scream in unison and then an electrified silence.

"All right! Asahi, Michimiya, take your positions. The scene begins just after Baby came in. Johnny walked across the room and went to open the sliding door to the garden. Now you're here, perfect. Asahi, try to keep your face to the camera. Look, as a reference mark... take Nishinoya."

Asahi gasped. Nishinoya swallowed. Great.

"To your places!"

There he is, front row.

"Lights!"

Back no more and no less than where they started. With the same fucking reflective panel in his hand.

"Camera!"

And Asahi there, in front of him. (He, who was even supposed to be his reference mark.)

"Action!"

As the scene began, Nishinoya dared to finally raise his eyes to Asahi. And then he saw that Asahi was watching him. A very brief, tense moment.

Then Michimiya spoke, Asahi looked away from him, and the scene really began.

"I'm sorry about the way my father treated you," the girl began.

"No, your father was great! Yes, he was great... The way he took care of Penny..."

While Asahi answered Michimiya, Nishinoya allowed himself to linger on his face. On his tight jaw, on the deep dark circles under his eyes.

" I mean the way he was with you. It's really me it has to do with. Johnny, I came here because my father-- "

" No. The way he saved her—"  
It was then that Nishinoya noticed the knot in Asahi's throat.  
“…I could never do anything like that…”  
Asahi’s high breath.  
"That was something "  
His watery eyes.  
" People treat me like I'm nothing '"  
Asahi could have fooled the others, but not him. Asahi was upset, he was for real. No fiction.  
"...because I'm 'nothing'"

Asahi's voice fell inside him, with a thud. Asahi was sick at the time and Nishinoya felt sick too. He inexplicably felt like he himself was the source of Asahi’s sickness, and he would have wanted to say something, anything. He couldn't help but keep looking into Asahi’s eyes, seeing that he was sick and still keeping quiet.

"No, that's not true!" cried Michimiya. "You are everything!"

And Nishinoya remembered when, only forty-eight hours earlier, on that line he had grabbed Asahi by the shoulders and looked for his eyes. Then Nishinoya felt confused, feverish, exhilarated.

"You don't understand the way it is for somebody like me."  
At that moment, however, Nishinoya only felt so helpless.

And as Asahi went on, explaining that ‘women used to stuff diamonds in his pockets while he was balancing on shit,’ Nishinoya smiled sadly at the memory of their rehearsals, the script in his hand, Asahi's embarrassment, and how he had encouraged him with his usual enthusiasm.

Meanwhile Asahi's voice seemed to want to increase the volume; to his ears it just seemed to break more and more.

It was Michimiya's turn: "No, it's not the way it is! It doesn't have to-- "

"Cut! Sorry guys! The battery just died..."

Ennoshita's sudden cut was like the referee's whistle after a crucial game. One crucial game and one point lost.

Nishinoya was again aware that he was surrounded by other people, and not only in the middle of a movie set, as he was never alone in the middle of the volleyball court; at that moment as during a game, his teammates were getting organized to move forward.  
Because a point lost is only a point. But the game continues.

Just like after losing a point and before starting the game again, Nishinoya felt the need to dampen the tension and pump up her spirits. So he did the only thing he was capable of. He broke out laughing and patted Ryuu's shoulder, not far away, only to come out with a "Don't mind, don't mind!" at the top of his lungs.

Ryuu, not even to say it, was about to scream out loud, but Ennoshita's slap on the back of his neck blocked him from the start.  
Taking hold of the camera that Yamaguchi had changed the battery, Chikara gave him an annoyed look too: "Noya, please! How loud you are!"

Just a moment...

"Let's start again!"

Loud.

"Lights!"

Just. A. Moment.

"Camera!"

Nishinoya freezed with the reflective panel, high in his hands.

If he could describe the moment his brain went haywire, the boy would have used a list of random onomatopoeia. Sding Sdeng Bum Bang! Or at least he would have compared the whole process to a string of electronic beeps of a crazy computer, or perhaps, if he was more refined, to the indistinct sound of an orchestra tuning its instruments before a symphony.

"Action!"

Sding Sdeng Bum Bang!

In a moment everything was clear to him.  
How could he not think of it?

No one in the world was louder than him.

Michimiya began with her first line, but it was Asahi that Nishinoya quickly turned to watch.

"No, it's not the way it is! It doesn't have to be that way, Johnny!”

Asahi who seemed to have a weight on his heart. Asahi who could hardly breathe.

Asahi who looked up at him before saying...  
"I've never met anyone like you."  
...regardless of whether Michimiya was his interlocutor.  
"You think you can make the world better. Somebody's lost, you find them. Somebody's bleeding--"

Nishinoya felt strongly called into question.  
Michimiya undoubtedly responded to Asahi's line, but Nishinoya could not hear anything she said. The only thing he could hear was his own frantic heartbeat. The only thing he saw was Asahi's tear-filled eyes staring into his own.

Asahi's voice echoed in his head: "You are not scared of anything..."  
Like everyone's gone except for them.  
Like Asahi was suffocating and losing control. Because his own breathing matched Asahi's. Just like on the court. And Nishinoya realized that Asahi was on the verge of losing control.

"Cut!"

Ennoshita's voice was like a spike in the face.  
Once again they were forced to return violently to reality: Nishinoya startled and Asahi suddenly lowered his head, as if caught doing something shameful.

"Excuse me. Sorry, Asahi-san, I didn't mean to interrupt you. It was all very good, what you were doing. Really. I appreciated the way you made this dialogue intense and painful. That's good. You were able to show us a deep side of Johnny. But I had to stop you because you weren't looking Michimiya exactly in the eye. I don't know, I had the camera and there was something missing... Can you do it again?"

Nishinoya felt his breath get stuck in her throat. Of course Asahi-san wasn't looking Michimiya exactly in the eye. He wasn't looking at her at all. He was looking at him!

Asahi was unable to lift his gaze or even say "Yes". He nodded briefly with his head and sniffed.

"Azumane... are you all right?" Michimiya shyly asked, placing her hand on Asahi’s shoulder and looking for his gaze.

Asahi nodded again, about to cry, and Nishinoya felt as if his heart was squeezed in a vice.

"How good as an actor Asahi-san is," Yachi murmured.

"Yes, he's really cool!" echoed Hinata, full of admiration.

"Ssh! Idiot, can't you see Asahi-san is trying to concentrate?", whispered Kageyama, ending the conversation.

No. Asahi wasn't concentrating. At least, not for the scene.  
He was probably concentrating to hold back his tears so his heart wouldn't fall apart before the end of shooting.

Nishinoya would have wanted to catch his eye, talk to him...

"Action!"

The scene began again, though. And he couldn't say anything. He could just stand there and watch.

Word after word, Nishinoya could feel Asahi's strain not to burst out, not to run away from there, not to turn around and look at him stand still with that ridiculous panel in his hand.

Nishinoya just wanted to scream. And run to him. Hold him. Tell him everything was fine. And then ask him... (even supposing all the thing sounded absurd, and yet...) ...ask him if it was true... if Asahi referred to him when he said his type was short and loud. If Nishinoya was the person Asahi had feelings for...

"You're not scared of anything...", Asahi said, and that line was clearly addressed to him.

The truth was different, though.

"Me? I'm scared of everything!"  
Michimiya's words came at the right time to give voice to Nishinoya’s thoughts.  
Nishinoya was afraid. He wasn't a superhero. On the contrary.  
" I'm scared of what I saw. I'm scared of what I did..."  
He was afraid to tell Asahi how he felt. Afraid to kiss him. There, in that very room, when he had the chance.  
"...who I am "  
And even when Nishinoya had resolved to act and tell him everything, he had stopped, because he had been afraid of what his eyes had seen and what his ears had heard. He was afraid of losing Asahi.  
" I'm scared of walking out of here and never feeling for the rest of my life... the way I feel --"  
He was losing him even then, because it had finally arrived. Damn it. The time for the kiss.  
"…when I'm with you." Michimiya concluded.

Asahi approached her slowly.  
Nishinoya held his breath.  
Asahi placed his hand on her face.  
Nishinoya felt his blood stop flowing.  
Asahi leaned down towards her.

And then Nishinoya snapped forward, without thinking, like a physical spasm.  
Then he suddenly stopped.  
What the fuck was he doing?

It was only a matter of seconds, Asahi sensed it and froze in turn.  
He seemed to hesitate for a few moments.  
A few moments when time stopped for Nishinoya.  
And then Asahi also snapped, resolute. He put both hands on Michimiya's face, drew her to himself, and kissed her.

Nishinoya closed his eyes... He didn't want to look.

"CUUUUT!"

He still had them tight closed, when Ennoshita threw his hat in the air, shouting: "It was perfect! Perfect! Guys, congratulations, everybody. End of the movie!"

There was general applause. Tanaka threw himself at Ennoshita, who had tears in his eyes. Hinata jumped almost to the ceiling. Suga uncorked a sparkling wine from nowhere.

"Suga?! What are you doing?! There are minors here!", thundered the captain.

"Come on, Daichi! What's a liter of sparkling wine divided among more than fifteen people?"

"One moment, one moment! Be careful not to get the equipment wet! Please put it away first!", Ennoshita recommended, moving away from Narita and Kinoshita's embrace.

While Yamaguchi hurried to put the camera away, Tsukishima lazily folded the cables and Hinata competed with Kageyama who first put the spotlights away, Nishinoya was astounded. In the middle of the room, everyone walked past him, too fast to notice how lost he was.

By the way… where did Asahi go?

Nishinoya finally looked around. When he realized that Asahi had disappeared, he suddenly came out of it.

Asahi-san.

He had to find him.

Asahi-san.

Talk to him.

Asahi-san.

In the middle of that mess, he moved to look for him. He slalomed between those who were tidying up quickly, those who were cheering for the end of the movie, those who were arranging tables and chairs. As people were going back and forth, Nishinoya came out of the sliding door on the veranda.

"We did it! Yeee! We did it!" laughed Hinata and Yachi, jumping around in front of each other.

Even Kyoko-san smiled satisfied. Trays of snacks and treats had popped up in the girls' hands. Someone had put on music. The euphoria and volume were at their highest.

Asahi-san.

Nishinoya couldn't stay though. He had to find him.  
Because, yes, he was afraid. But he decided not to be.

He found a plastic cup in his hand, with two fingers of champagne, and swallowed it all in one breath.

Because being afraid is just a waste of time.

Because of his adrenaline and empty stomach, the sparkling wine went straight to his head and Nishinoya was even more determined to find Asahi.

Asahi-san!

Nishinoya found himself up the hill leading to the pond, with the evening breeze against his warm skin and the moon guiding his steps. The noise little by little became a blurred abruptness. In the silence of the countryside, crickets and stars, he heard a thud. Then another. And another at regular intervals.  
Nishinoya stopped.  
The pond wasn't far away. It only took a couple of minutes to reach it. But instead he turned left and went straight towards the hard court.  
He would have recognized those thuds all the way to the end of the world.

When Nishinoya came out from behind a bush, his assumption was confirmed.  
Asahi was standing at the end line of the court, sharp-eyed and out of breath. On the other side of the net, a ball was rolling until it stopped.

Asahi didn't notice him.

Nishinoya saw him bend under the net and retrieve the ball. He saw him get back into position and stare at a point in front of him. He saw him breathe in, bending his knees, tossing the ball over him. And he saw him push himself upwards, as if he were flying away.

At that point his own legs moved by themselves, and Nishinoya found himself on the other side of the net receiving the ball a moment after Asahi had served it.

The power of the Ace's spike was dampened in the libero’s receive.  
Because Karasuno volleyball team knew their stuff.  
And because Nishinoya was the only one who could receive Asahi's serve.

The ball fell not far away and was immediately forgotten, because Asahi looked at him as if he had seen a ghost.  
"Nishinoya"

Nishinoya suddenly felt troubled under that look.  
He would have gone all the way, though.  
‘No matter what.’

"Asahi-san..."

Nishinoya took a step towards the net that divided them.  
Asahi stood still. His gaze did not waver. He stood tall, his eyes on him.  
Nishinoya saw neither amazement nor fear, but something like pride and determination. Something heroic in its own way. Alright then, if Asahi was heroic, he could do no less.  
So Nishinoya broke the silence.

"This short, loud type of yours..."

"Um..."

"...isn't that a girl?"

In the moonlight, Nishinoya saw Asahi's pupils dilate, he felt Asahi’s breath stop.  
"No. That's not a girl."

And his own cheeks go on fire at that admission.

Time stood still, everything stood still.  
Until Nishinoya took another small step towards the net.

"So… that's not Michimiya?"

Nishinoya needed confirmation. Because if it was true what it seemed at that point, and neither of them had noticed it before, they both really needed to speak clearly.

"Michimiya?!"  
Asahi's face spoke for itself. His bewilderment was immediately supplanted by a surprised and even annoyed expression. Asahi seemed to forget all the embarrassment of that situation. He started gesturing. He simply reacted like Nishinoya hit a nerve.  
“Why does everyone think – No – assume I like Michimiya?!", he defended himself like he would from an accusation. "I don't even like girls!"

"What...?"

Asahi suddenly froze up.

Then it was true.  
Nishinoya ran out of air.  
His eyes must have been out of his head too by then.

"S-so you like...?"

"I-I don't know...", Asahi cut short, lowering his gaze and trying to go on, without stumbling on words, because what he was about to say seemed important. "One thing I do know, though: that he... this short, loud guy... he's my type. Besides..." he briefly raised his scorched earth coloured eyes to him, "It's not like I've ever had too much interest in someone else." He swallowed. "Girl or boy."

Nishinoya would have wanted to say something, anything, but he couldn't find any words other than the one that made sense to him: "Asahi-san".  
It was a breath, almost a sigh.

Asahi raised his guilty eyes on him, waiting.

Then Nishinoya said the smartest thing - or at least the only thing - that went through his head.  
"...Do you find me… short?"

And all the tension, all the embarrassment, all the shame, melted away in Asahi's unexpected sudden giggle.

"Noya... you're short."

"Hey!" grunted Nishinoya, disappointed. But Asahi's choked noises were contagious, and Nishinoya ended up laughing too.

When the laughter waned, the tension was lightened.

"Asahi-san"  
Nishinoya thought it was the right time to take another step forward, bend over and cross the net.  
"Why did you freak out before... on the movie set... during the scene?"

A few steps from him, Asahi seemed incapable of answering.

Nishinoya continued, his voice insistent and at the same time soft like a caress.  
"Did you think I wouldn't notice?"  
Asahi continued to say nothing, his watery eyes on in his own.

Nishinoya took another step towards him.  
"You wanted to tell me something, didn't you?"  
He didn't even give Asahi time to respond.  
"No, because... I do want to tell you something. I like you, Asahi-san. I like you a lot."

He did it. He said it out loud.

Asahi didn't react exactly as Nishinoya had imagined.  
He looked at him confused. Wild eyed. In shock, to be honest; as if Nishinoya had said heresy, as if Asahi expected everything but that confession.  
"B-but I-I-I... I am ME...!", he gasped.

"I can see it," Nishinoya smiled back, a bit confused in turn.

Asahi didn't seem to understand. "N-no, I mean... I'm... I'm a GUY...!"

At this point Nishinoya laughed with gusto, making a broad gesture towards him. "I don't think there was ever any doubt about it!"

"No, Noya, you don't understand... You like Shimizu! I mean... I thought that... Girls! You like girls! You think they're pretty and... I thought you liked Shimizu... Don't you like Shimizu?"

Nishinoya enjoyed that lost and slightly hopeful expression for a few moments. Simply adorable.

"Kyoko-san is gorgeous, Asahi, no question. And she'll always be a goddess to me. But, I mean... how would it look if I buzzed around you like that instead of her?"  
Nishinoya blushed at the boldness of his own words, but was heartened to see Asahi recording the information, evidently visualizing that absurd scenario and blushing brutally in turn.  
"To tell the truth I didn't realize it too long ago," Nishinoya hurried to reassure him.  
He soon realized that he had slipped into a minefield. "I mean... what I feel, I've felt for a long time, but..."

"Since when?" Asahi seemed to find some courage.

"Oh man, that's a good question," replied Nishinoya, looking at Asahi, with honesty. (Asahi who seemed damn determined.) Nishinoya ran his hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head. "I've wondered the same thing myself... I think it's always been that way. But seeing you with Michimiya these last days has... yes, I think it's helped me to understand it more clearly," he smiled at last, unpunished.

"Michimiya? Again! Why her...? I don't understand..."

"Yeah, I mean, come on, Asahi-san! You were always with her and you two seemed so close, and apparently you two really hit it off... and then you had those scenes like... woooh! waaaah!! And you weren't embarrassed at all! I mean... YOU! And she was all smiles... and you were like... uuuf! And so... Wooooh!"  
Oh, God! He was talking like Hinata!

Asahi opened his eyes wide, sincerely amazed.  
"B-but... we're friends! That's normal - isn't it? -, to feel comfortable with a friend..."

"A friend?" Nishinoya echoed him.

"Yes. I mean... if I liked her - really liked her - then I would have been embarrassed next to her... but... she's so easy to talk to... she confided in me that she likes Daichi and..."

"Daichi..."

"Yes... And I tried to advise her... And then... well... it was so easy to talk to her about... yes... about how I feel about you."

Oh.

Suddenly all the pieces found a place and the dialogue Nishinoya had eavesdropped on the night before between Asahi and Michimiya took on a completely different meaning.

"I- I mean...", stammered Asahi, in agitation, "...I never thought I'd be able to tell anyone... and she was so supportive... Suga and Daichi would make fun of me to death..."

"I don’t think so..."

"I mean, she started telling me that if I wanted to, I could... tell you, I mean... so that... hahahah... I feel so stupid now! ...So that she convinced me to say it out loud, as if you were there... To say how much I like you, I mean..."

Asahi stopped babbling, and it was definitely his turn to say something, but Nishinoya was speechless.  
He looked at Asahi, without knowing what to say and with damn racing heart.

Asahi swallowed and took his first step towards him, the first step since they had met.  
"What I feel for you... I've always felt for you too. Ever since I saw you play the first time. The way you jumped on the ground and received the ball and raised your eyes at me... I... I don't think I've ever seen eyes like that."

The eyes in question widened out of all proportion.  
"And you've waited all this time since then?! Oh fuck! Asahi-saaan!"

"It wasn't easy!" Asahi defended himself. "You only seemed interested in girls..."

"Because girls are beautiful, Asahi, that's an objective fact! I like girls, okay. And then I like you. And I like you a lot more than any girl. And Kyoko-san is and will always be up there for me, I told you. But you, well... there's no way. I like you much more than her."  
Nishinoya felt breathless. He was breathless.

Even Asahi seemed to be having trouble breathing.  
"M-me...? How can it be that someone like you likes... someone like me?", he murmured out loud.

"’Someone like you’"?

"Noya... you're so cool and I, Instead..."

"I don't even want to hear that kind of shit!" Nishinoya shut him up, getting closer to him. "Asahi-san! It's true, I'm cool," he winked, then suddenly got serious, "Do you think I might like you if you weren't cool too?! Oh fuck, Asahi, have you seen yourself?! You're... you're awesome! Anything but cool! In every way... I... oh! It's so frustrating to say this out loud... I like everything about you. Everything! The way you are, the way you get all worked up about the stupidest things, and the way you can get strong, the way you look at me, the way you spike, the way you laugh... and then... you're so hot!"

"H-hot?!"

"Ahahah, yes! You don't even imagine what I'd like to do… to you!"

"E-eh?!"

"Ha ha! Asahi-san! Do you... do you think it was easy for me to see you kiss Michimiya like that earlier?"

Of all the things Nishinoya had poured over him like a waterfall, Asahi decided to respond to that.  
"I didn't do it," he said instinctively.

Nishinoya looked at him questioningly.

"I didn't really kiss her," Asahi confessed. "I followed Ennoshita's teachings: it was a 'theatrical kiss'."

"Oh"  
‘That bastard Chikara. I must remember to thank him.’  
"Asahi-san"

"Yes?"

"Have you... have you ever been kissed? For real, I mean..."

Asahi shook his head, timidly.

"Because I haven’t. Ever," Nishinoya continued, taking Asahi’s hand, his eyes glued to Asahi’s eyes, as if in a trance.

"Really?", Asahi whispered.

Nishinoya nodded. "And I wish..." He couldn't go on, though. Instead, he raised Asahi's hand to the level of his face and kissed Asahi’s fingers.

Asahi shivered. "W-what do you wish...?"

"Oh, come on, Asahi!" chuckled Nishinoya.

"I don't know if I got it right... I'm afraid I'll misunderstand again and... and ruin everything."

In response, Nishinoya closed his eyes and rubbed his cheek against the palm of Asahi's hand, enjoying that warm, gentle touch.  
Then he opened his eyes and challenged him.  
"No, I think you got it..."  
Asahi approached him imperceptibly, as if hypnotized. He bit his lip and swallowed, and from that short distance, Nishinoya clearly saw Asahi’s Adam's apple go down and up.  
It was too much even for him.  
"Regardless, if you want me to explain it to you..."

Nishinoya didn't explain anything at all. Not with words, at least. Because he was a man of action.

He grabbed Asahi by the shirt.  
He tugged Asahi down.  
He closed his eyes.  
And kissed him.

And then all his confidence evaporated.

Because he had expected everything, except the heat wave that hit him treacherously. The moment his lips came into contact with Asahi's - warmer and softer than he would have imagined - he felt so dazed that he suddenly felt his knees give way, his fingers tingling and his brain short-circuit.

He still had his hands holding Asahi's shirt, unable to move from there, when he felt Asahi's hands taking his face, a firm and gentle touch at the same time.  
Strong, secure.  
More secure than Nishinoya would have imagined.

This thought alone was enough to knock him out. This thought and the taste of Asahi's mouth opening on his. This thought and the smell of Asahi filling his nostrils.  
A new wave of heat spread violently inside him, inflaming him in an unexpected way, as if Nishinoya was simmering on the grill and threatening to explode with every second that passed.

The world revolved around them at an absurd speed.

Neither of them could tell who was doing what and why.  
There were no questions or answers.  
Just a burning desire to get to know each other, to discover each other, to taste each other.  
They acted on instinct, because that was what they did best, at that moment, just as during a game.

Each kiss became hotter, more intense, more urgent.

As always, one breath for both of them. Heavy, this time. A totally different breath from the one they shared on the court, when the game got difficult and they felt tired.

They both took off at the same time, breathlessly.

Asahi looked at him dazed, his eyelids ajar, his chest rising and falling relentlessly.

Nishinoya passed his tongue over his own lips. They tasted of sparkling wine and Asahi.  
"Why…" he gasped, "Why didn't we do it before?"  
He slipped his fingers into Asahi's hair, messily tied up in a bun, and didn't feel ridiculous as he added, "Kiss each other, I mean".

Asahi shook his head and a trembling chuckle came out of his lips.

Then, without adding anything else, under the moonlight, he rushed back to kiss Nishinoya, again and again.

***

They kissed. They really kissed.  
Asahi and Michimiya kissed in front of him, and Daichi could do nothing to stop them.  
His eyes were burning, staring into space. He must have forgotten to blink since Ennoshita said “Cut!”, and it was a good thing that at that very moment Suga pulled out that bottle of sparkling wine, because he found the excuse to pull himself together and hold onto his role as captain and "responsible adult" midst that flock of ravens.

"Suga?! What are you doing?! There are minors here!" Was that really his voice?

"Come on, Daichi! What's a liter of sparkling wine divided among more than fifteen people?"

Even Suga's answer seemed distant to him.  
Daichi, like a robot, followed him into the porch to check that the situation did not escalate.  
In his mind he kept seeing Asahi kissing Michimiya, in his ears he kept hearing Michimiya's heartbreaking voice.  
("You are everything!").  
Yet, just before she said that line, something strange had happened, something out of all logic, something Daichi could not define: Michimiya had laid her eyes on him for a brief moment. Him! Or did he dream it, perhaps?  
For a moment he considered whether to ask Ennoshita to take a look at the footage. No, no. What am I going to think? Then he remembered that it was Asahi's reverse shot: Michimiya wasn't in the frame. It was impossible to see if she was looking at Asahi or... him.  
He was amazed at his own reasoning, Daichi, when he really felt, at that moment, less than logical and rational: he just wanted to shout and run to her and tell her... tell her what? He was ridiculous.  
("Me? I’m scared of everything! Everything!").  
And yet she looked at him at that moment. Michimiya looked at Daichi, and in that split second she looked desperate.  
("I'm scared of what I did, who I am”).  
It was not that she wasn't good at acting, but she looked at him. Did she want to say something to him? Well, then, what? Was it an accident?  
("I'm scared of walking out of here and never feeling for the rest of my life... the way I feel when I'm with you! ").  
Daichi sighed. Surely it was all in his head, exactly like a movie. There was no reason why Michimiya wasn't feeling good at the time. In fact, she probably felt great, since Asahi had kissed her so passionately. And she was certainly there somewhere sharing her joy with her friends.

He looked around for her; he didn't find her.  
There was a large coming and going. Someone had turned on some music. Hinata and Yachi talked like children. Ahiara and Sasaki were laughing. Even Shimizu had joined them. Not even a sign of Michimiya.

Then he was distracted by something that seemed out of place, something out of his control.

"To your movie, Chikara!" he heard Tanaka toast.

What was that?!  
He took Suga by the sleeve. "What are those?!"

"Come on, Daichi, don't be a moralist! It's just a couple of beers, very light ones... there's nothing wrong with it. Nobody has to drive tonight."

There were already several empty bottles around. When did they have time to drink them?!

"Dai-san, would you like a beer?" Tanaka arrived at a very bad time and did not see Sugawara wave to flee as soon as possible.

"Who brought them?" Daichi went after him.

"Uh... I, Dai-san... I, uh... Hahaha! ...My sister brought them from the restaurant where she works! Well, it's just a few beers, isn't it? None of us are going to do anything crazy!"

Beyond all expectations, Daichi let him go, took the beer and swallowed a sip without saying anything.  
Tanaka - who did not require to be invited twice and got out of the way - was right. They were normal teenagers, after all, the next day there would be no big game to play and he just needed to calm down.

"Hey, that's the way to do it," Suga winked, throwing himself back into the fray.  
The music was loud and the air was hot against his skin. Apparently, that atmosphere was a real treat for Suga.

Not for Daichi's, though, who returned to look around.

"Where's Michimiya?" he asked the girls' group.

The laughter died on Ahiara's lips. "Oh God, isn't she with you?"

"No..." he replied, hesitant.

Sasaki and Ahiara exchanged glances.  
Daichi suddenly felt out of place.

"You think it's because of the bet?" Sasaki told her friend in a heartbeat.

"No, come on, I don't think so... You think?" Even Ahiara seemed worried.

"Will you tell me what's going on?" Daichi interrupted them with a dry throat.

"To the pond!" Ahiara then said, finally looking at him, "I think Yui is at the pond right now. Let's go look for her!"

"I'll go," Daichi stopped her. Something in his gesture and voice apparently convinced her not to follow him.

  
Daichi was already heading for the pond. The moon was high in the sky, and his footsteps were fast.

What did they mean, "to the pond"? What the heck was Michimiya doing alone by the pond?!

That's when Daichi saw her: barefoot on the gravel of the shore, beautifully pale in the glare of the water.  
She was taking off her flowery dress, and this was enough for him not to be able to put one word together with the other.  
The dress slipped on the ground and Michimiya looked in front of her, covered with nothing but what looked like a swimsuit… a bikini. Just, it wasn't a swimsuit at all: it was a bra and light grey cotton panties. Okay, yeah, nothing fancy, basically a swimsuit. And yet...

The girl breathed in and took a step towards the water.

"Michimiya!" Daichi had finally found his word.

"Sa-Sawamura! What are you doing here?"

"What are YOU doing here! At this time of night, alone! You'll catch cold!"

After the initial surprise, Michimiya began to laugh. That fresh, infectious laugh that Daichi would never get tired of listening to.  
"Oh God, I know, I know I'm an idiot... and here in front of you now, with that face of yours, it just confirms it!"  
There was something strange about the way Michimiya was slurring her words...  
"Still I made a bet!"

"A bet?"

"You're damn right! One of those bets you have to keep ‘cause your honor depends on that!"

"Who did you make this bet with?"

"With the girls. What does it matter now?"

"The girls aren't here, and they're even more worried than me. Come on, put on your clothes... let's go."

"It doesn't mean anything! The bet was made and I have to honor it, I told you- What, you're worried? Are you worried about me?"

"It's obvious," Daichi smiled, for the first time since they had seen each other. He took a few steps towards her.

"Ah, well...", muttered Michimiya, putting a small lock of hair behind her ear. "The... the bet! I can't leave before I jump into the lake."

"What?!" Few things were able to upset Sawamura Daichi; that was one of them. "What do you mean you have to jump into the lake? Now? At night?!"

"You don't get it," Michimiya sulked. "At the beginning of the week I made this bet: If I can't say how I feel to the... to the guy I like... I'm going to jump into the lake!", she concluded, chin up, face on fire.

Daichi stared at her expressionlessly, as if he had been knocked out by a ball to the back of his head.  
Damn it.  
"Well, what do you mean? You... you did it, didn't you?"  
The image of Michimiya in Asahi's arms was seared into his brain; the girl’s love confession was still burning in his ears.

"No. I would say I didn’t," said Michimiya, puzzled. "I don't think... uh... this boy... has ever looked at me that way," she added with a demoralized look.

Damn it.  
Michimiya must have forgotten...  
Daichi got a frustrated hand in his hair.  
Ironically, he had to be the one to remind her of that.  
"How much did you drink?" he murmured with a hint of exasperation.

"Not so much!" she reacted, outraged. "Come on, let me jump," she added firmly, as if to shake off a nuisance, as something she had to do, and there were no other possibilities to consider.  
She put one foot in the water.

"Michimiya Yui! Stop right now! It's dangerous," his voice came loud, imperious.

Her response was immediate: "No!"  
She had always been stubborn, Michimiya. She was looking at him with red cheeks and bright eyes. She was determined to jump.

"So you're forcing me to follow you," Daichi said, as if it were the most natural consequence of that situation.

And then he began to undress unceremoniously.  
Michimiya gouged out her eyes and swallowed.  
Daichi took off his shirt in an abrupt gesture.  
Michimiya started to back down, sinking her feet into the mud of the lake.  
At that point, Daichi had no choice but to take off his shoes without worrying about untiyng them and pulling down her shorts. He stayed in his boxer shorts. A pair of black boxer shorts, tight as a swimsuit.

When she sucked air into her lungs, Michimiya shuddered violently and discovered that she had receded so far back that the water was already at chest height.

Daichi didn't even give her time to realize it. In four strides he stood beside her in the icy water, without batting an eyelid.

"Come on, you jumped. Come out now, you'll catch a cold."  
He took her by the arm and she looked at him with indecipherable eyes, without moving an inch. 

Daichi straightened up. "Also, you remember it wrong, you told him."

"What?" she looked suspiciously at him.

"That you like him"

"No, I know I didn’t," she giggled again, resigned, "I know!"

He might as well play along. Her hangover would have passed anyway and she would remember again that she told Asahi that she was in love with him and that... damn it... that they hugged, and laughed together and everything.  
"Oh well... Then he's really stupid, this guy of yours! I'll give him a nice little lecture that he'll remember for a while!"

"Who… who are you talking about?" Michimiya said to him, with a confused smile on her lips.

"Why ‘Who’? That big goof guy of Asahi."

Michimiya looked at Daichi for a moment without understanding, and then she rubbed her forehead, closed her eyes and gave a resigned giggle.  
"Oh God, I really must have drunk more than I could handle, because I don't understand... I really don't understand what Azumane has to do with it now! Then...", she added in a joking tone, and wavered just a little in the water, and Daichi went closer to her, "...then you have to explain to me why you're always so hard on him! He's so sweet..."

"Because it's an idiot to let someone like you slip through his fingers," Daichi shut her up, and realized he was out of breath at the end of those words.

"Someone like... me?", Michimiya fumbled with her voice.

"Yes, I mean, a girl who's so honest, intelligent, and... is basically everything a guy would love...! A girl to talk to and laugh and play volleyball with... and whose smile is so contagious... and... and... and whose eyes light up when they look at you!... and... yes. Asahi really is an idiot."  
He looked at her just then; his face was hot, his hand behind his neck.

"Just a moment..." she said in a choked voice, looking at him as if she were having an epiphany. "You... you think... you think I like Azumane?!"

"Why, isn't that so?"

She shook her head forcefully, without any hesitation, without taking her eyes off his.

"What...? No, it can't be... I have, yes... You like him... It can't be anything but that... I saw you last night, on the porch, when you told him... Michimiya, you told him you were in love with him and then you hugged him...", he babbled insecurely, as if it was him who drank too much.

"Oh, God... Oh, God! Yes, I mean... No!" Michimiya swooped her face into his hands. She seemed out of her mind with shame. "Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God! You assumed that..."  
Then she lifted her head up again and yelled a few inches from his face, moving the water between them: "No! No! You don't understand a thing!"

"Huh?"

"No, I mean... Oh, God! It wasn't him I said that to! Oh boy, yes, I said it to him, but it wasn't meant for him... Azumane is so nice and listens to me so patiently... and I confide in him with such ease... and... well, I know it sounds crazy, but I was practicing with him."

"P- practicing?"

"Yes! I mean... to say it out loud! Saying that... saying those words... those words out loud, pretending to be in front of the guy I like," she concluded, hiding behind her own hands again.

"And... isn't Asahi him?", Daichi murmured, who was putting the pieces together.

Michimiya peered him from behind her fingers. "No, he isn’t... at all"

Daichi felt his head spin.  
"No, wait... Asahi said... yes... he said he loved you."

"Oh boy, Sawamura! What the heck were you doing there, anyway? He was practicing too to tell..."

"...to tell Nishinoya" The realization struck Daichi as an unexpected victory. Like the last point of the last set miraculously scored.

Michimiya nodded faintly.

"Oh man...", he said.

Michimiya nodded more strongly and a choked moan escaped from her throat.

"Oh man!" Daichi repeated, unable to put any more words together.

"Yeah!", Michimiya echoed.

Daichi then turned to her, out of his mind. It wasn't over yet.  
He grabbed her by the shoulders and she gasped.  
"What... what about the kiss?" He had to know.

"What kiss?"

"The passionate one Asahi gave you on set earlier..."

"But... but..."  
She was gasping. Michimiya Yui was gasping and he was hanging on those syllables of her, struggling out of her incredulous mouth. Until they took shape and meaning in the words that Michimiya almost screamed in his face, "What passionate kiss?! It was completely fake!"  
Fake...  
"Sawamura!"

She was looking at him upset, but he couldn't stop the smile that opened up on his lips.  
"Fake..."

He turned to her with a dumb-ass look. Daichi’s grip on Michimiya’s shoulders loosened, one of his hands went up along the girl's arm, the other one was still holding on of her shoulders.

Michimiya shuddered at his touch, gasped, swallowed, and he seemed to see everything in slow motion.  
"Sawamura...?"

She was there, in his arms, close to him as she had been only two days before, there, in the same water of that same pond.

"...Yes?" his voice came out low.

Michimiya looked at him as if she was considering whether to lay it all on the line.  
And she must have made a decision, because something flashed in her eyes.  
"...I... I... I didn't imagine you were jealous."

"You don't?"

"I thought you only had good qualities..."

"I do have only good qualities..."

Daichi realized how close his face was to hers, how close her ajar lips were to his.

He came even closer to her as if it were the most natural thing in the world, the only thing left to do.  
He couldn't dare, though. His heart in his throat prevented him. After all, he was a cautious man, on the court and off. He had to test the waters.  
So Daichi’s kiss was placed on Michimiya's cheek. Not far from her mouth, but still.  
It was enough to cloud his mind, though.  
Daichi fearfully opened his eyes to look at her again.

Michimiya was watching him with bated breath. Then she did something inconceivable: she kissed him back with the same sweetness, with the same held trepidation, a few millimeters from Daichi’s lips.

Daichi felt himself transported into a vortex. Yet he was unquestionably still, motionless, with Michimiya in his arms, her bare, wet skin under his rough fingers.

After all, it was still fine, there was nothing wrong with it... was there?

Daichi came closer, and his lips touched this time the corner of her lips.  
No, there was nothing wrong with it, two friends can kiss like that, it means nothing strange...

She didn't wait long before she ventured to imitate him.

It doesn't mean anything, it's just a show of affection and intimacy and...

…Of something else, he barely had time to think about it before shutting up the train of his thoughts, closing his eyes and kissing her. For real this time.

Lost in the sensation of Michimiya's lips between his own, Daichi forgot that he was in the water, at night, wearing only a tight pair of boxer shorts. He felt Michimiya let go in his arms.  
At that very moment he even forgot his own name.

"Dai... chi..." She reminded him, sighing between kisses.

Her sigh was mixed with his sigh, their hug became tighter and his desire to feel her against his chest became more urgent.  
He felt her shiver. A brief, violent shiver.

Daichi just broke away. "Hey... are you cold?"

"Not at all," she smiled at him, putting her arms around him and picking up where she left off, stubborn.

And he felt a shiver too, up his spine, just as violent, unexpectedly burning.

His fingers slipped through her hair. Her fingers went so far as to caress the back of his head, and Daichi felt himself melt at that touch. He was about to really melt and cross the line of what he had known about himself and her up to that moment when... he opened his eyes in a flash.  
"Wait... wait a moment."  
He hated himself for it. Because Michimiya looked at him confused, and she was about to ask if she had done anything wrong. In fact he was moving away from her, and even though he was still out of breath and his lips were wet, to her eyes he suddenly seemed light years away, pulled away from something that seemed to grip him in an atrocious way.  
"Sorry I didn't... I shouldn't have... You... you're... drunk and tomorrow you're gonna regret... all this... and then there's..." Daichi collapsed on himself. "There's this other guy you like..."

In the silence that stretched between them, there was only the gentle lapping of the water against their bodies.

Then the voice of Michimiya, small. "I don't believe it..."

"What?" he whispered, lifting a sad look at her. She seemed astonished. Honestly.

"You still don't understand? YOU are this guy. Sawamura... You're the guy I like!"

When Tanaka's shoulder hit his face during the match against Wakutani, the hit was less strong.

Stunned.

Michimiya's statement had left him stunned and speechless.

Not like the girl wanted to let him answer.  
"And then... drunk, you say? That's good. Don't you take cold showers when you are drunk? Soon done!" And Michimiya let herself go backwards into the water of the lake under the astonished eyes of Daichi.  
She came up a moment later, coughing and laughing, trembling and with her hair dripping.  
"I'm sober! I'm sober, I assure you!" she screamed out loud.  
Then she passed her hand over her eyes to wipe them as best she could. She opened them again, her beautiful, red and determined eyes. "Or just enough to remember that I've been in love with you... like, forever! Because I swear… I swear to you I've thought about it a million times, but I really don't know!... I can't remember when I started to like you... if in junior high, when we spent our afternoons at the park tossing a volleyball, or in high school, when I first saw you in the school hallways in your new uniform, or... or every time you scold me for something... or when you smile that way of yours you can't even imagine what it means to me... or... or..."

The unexpected touch of Daichi's hands on her face had the power to calm her suddenly.

Calm, much calmer than she was, Daichi was a breath away from her lips.  
"Michimiya. You're hyperventilating. Try to catch your breath."  
The kiss he gave her, ironically, took away what little breath she had left.

‘Yes. So am I. In love with you.  
And no. I don't know when I started liking you like this, too.’

When they broke apart, the only thing Daichi's broken voice could articulate was, "I'd say you won the bet with this... Maybe it's time to get out of the water."  
And without adding anything else, he took Michimiya by the hand and dragged her ashore in silence.

Once there, Daichi picked up his shirt from the ground.  
He turned towards her.  
He took her arm.  
He rolled up his shirt and started to dry Michimiya.

Despite the calmness he hoped to convey, despite his slow, held movements, Daichi tried to calm his breathing and hoped that under the pale light of the moon she didn’t notice any blush on his cheeks. The - evident – one on Michimiya's face, who looked at him with big eyes and bit her lip, really didn't help.

Without either of them saying a word, the T-shirt was passed over her shoulders, rubbed against her back, dabbed at the base of her neck.  
A few impertinent droplets slipped into the neckline of that simple, harmless, normal jersey bra, slightly padded and soaked beyond all limits.  
Daichi swallowed. This time she grabbed his face with one hand, passed it through his wet hair, and stopped it at the back of his neck. She then pulled him to herself.

What they felt was like an explosion, a sudden burst, which rumbled in their chests and spread through the air, buzzing in their ears.

Huge was the amazement for both of them when, opening their eyes again, they saw that the explosion was not metaphorical but real. And the whole situation took on a funny, almost grotesque, slightly embarrassing nuance.  
Not so far, just behind the hill separating the pond from Hinata's house, someone was setting off fireworks.

"The... the guys must have..."

"Yes...", she said, in a whisper.

And while the yellow, reddish, purplish light shone in their eyes and colored their faces, Daichi and Michimiya burst out laughing, in each other's arms, as if they had won the most important bet of their lives, like a boy and a girl who remained friends without being friends anymore.

  
***

  
"Woohhh! The fireworks!!!! Those bastards didn't wait for us!"

"Why would they do that?" laughed Asahi, a hoarse, vibrant giggle.

The explosion of colors had caught them still standing, in the same spot where they had been until then, pressed against each other, their hair all messy, their faces terribly hot and their sense of time and space now a distant memory.

"Come, let's at least enjoy the show," Nishinoya took Asahi by the hand and pulled him towards the grassy small uphill on the edge of the court.

Sit down.  
Nishinoya needed to sit down.  
Because the fireworks would have been nicer.  
And yes, also because he was starting to get really dizzy.

Self-confident.   
Nishinoya felt self-confident, when, after diving on the grass, he waved Asahi to sit down next to him, tapping the palm of his hand on the lawn.

When Asahi leaned down to sit down, though, Nishinoya suddenly lost all his confidence. And he felt hopeless. Because that sweet, clumsy way Asahi smiled at him - to hell with it! -was more beautiful than a thousand fireworks! It became immediately the only show he wanted to enjoy.  
That and Asahi's reaction when Nishinoya was suddenly on top of him.  
That and the moans that came out of Asahi's throat when Nishinoya kissed him as if he wanted to devour him.  
Because - fuck! - Asahi-san felt the same way Nishinoya felt about him, and Nishinoya still couldn't believe it.  
Asahi-san...  
He had the courage to talk to him. He finally kissed him!  
Asahi-san!  
He was still kissing him!  
Yeah, his head was terribly spinning.

Without the effort of standing up, Nishinoya let himself go completely.  
A Garigari-kun must feel like that, Nishinoya thought, feeling himself melting against Asahi's lips, that were burning between his own; no, more than that, a Garigari-kun under the August sun, he thought, feeling himself melting against Asahi's body, that was shivering under his hands.

When Asahi, while sitting between his legs, trailed his fingers down his back, Nishinoya felt himself turn on in a whole new way.  
When Asahi pulled him down and their hips collided, Nishinoya felt an electric shock fry his brain and every remnant of common sense completely abandoned him.

‘Rolling Thunder!’, Nishinoya barely had time to formulate in his head. ‘What we're doing is the equivalent of a Rolling Thunder... In a completely different context, of course.’

Even though that thought didn't make any sense, it seemed like an epic revelation to Nishinoya.

And even though they may have been a bit clumsy and it wasn't smooth how Nishinoya pulled his hands out from under Asahi's shirt and put them in Asahi’s hair to pull it slightly, nor it was planned how Asahi rushed headlong into his face, bumping his nose against Nishinoya's, only to end up biting his lower lip... well, yes, even though they may have been a bit clumsy, neither of them cared that much.

Because each kiss was more urgent than the last.  
Because they both felt exalted by the novelty of every gesture, by the power of every sensation.  
Because it was undeniable how naturally Asahi was relaxing with Nishinoya.  
Because it was perfect the way Nishinoya's body fit Asahi's, as if they were meant to be in each other's arms. Despite the difference in height, age, and personality. Despite the fact that it took them forever to confess their love to each other...

"M-Maybe we should join the others...", Asahi said, as he moved away a little, short of breath.

Like hell!  
Nishinoya slid his hands behind Asahi's back, intertwined his own fingers together, and pulled him down him unceremoniously.  
"Naah... I don't think the others give a damn about us right now..."

"Hmmm..." Asahi smiled at him.

Nishinoya contemplated that smile for a few moments.  
"Victory", he whispered then, without taking his eyes off Asahi.

"Victory...?"

"We finished the movie... and we won! It's obvious, isn't it?", Nishinoya explained, with his eyes glowing.

"I don't think it works like that... Oh, God, maybe if Ennoshita decides to participate to some festivals..."

"Oh, come on, Asahi-san!", Nishinoya complained, letting his head go backwards, frustrated and amused at the same time.

Asahi burst out laughing.  
Was he making fun of him?  
"Yes, sorry..."

Asahi’s laughter stopped on Nishinoya’s lips, where Asahi placed a little kiss.  
Nishinoya did not immediately respond to that kiss.  
He took a good look at Asahi, there in his arms, and felt that he was the greatest of winners.  
Because the boy he was hugging tightly was worth more than a thousand victories, more than the cup of the spring tournament in Miyagi Prefecture. And for Nishinoya, those victories and that cup were everything.

That's enough! He was getting too sappy, even if it was only in his head!

"Anyway, ending up with that very scene... with the scene of your kiss (even though it was fake)... was a real cruelty," Nishinoya concluded, closing his eyes and thinking he would end the whole thing with that little complaint and pick up where they left off.

Asahi wouldn't let him, though. "That scene is the last one we shot, but... it's not the last one in the movie," he said.

Nishinoya looked at him without understanding; his eyes we half-lidded. He wasn't even sure if he had heard the whole sentence, so much his heart was pounding in his ears.

"You know it, don't you?" Asahi said.

Did Asahi really want him to say something?

"Ah, yes, yes, I know", Nishinoya cut short without taking his eyes off Asahi's lips, and slowly moved closer, as if he couldn't stay away too long.  
Yes, he then kissed Asahi, as if he couldn't do otherwise, as the most inevitable thing on earth. "… But I can't remember the very last scene," he added, distractedly.

"That's because you don't read scripts."

So Asahi was really doing it on purpose?!  
"Oi, Asahi-saaan!!"

Asahi laughed again and planted a little consolation kiss on Nishinoya’s pouty lips.  
Yes, he was definitely teasing him.

"Don't you remember? We shot it one of the first days, all together... Takeda-sensei was there too... It's the moment when Johnny, during the end-of-summer party, introduced everyone to this wonderful person he was lucky enough to meet and who helped him, becoming so important for him, with such a great talent in volleyball... And well… Johnny also says that..."  
Asahi blushed, but he didn't look away. He kept looking Nishinoya in the eyes. "...that thanks to this person he understood what kind of person he wants to become."

His words were followed by an enraptured silence.

A silence that lasted something more than the three-quarters of a second endurance in which Nishinoya could usually keep quiet.

Then Nishinoya closed his mouth and recovered.  
"I figured it out too... fuck, I totally figured it out!"

At that point Asahi did not even try to restrain Nishinoya who threw himself impetuously at him; actually, Asahi held him in the most euphoric hug.

Because Asahi was in Nishinoya's arms and Nishinoya in Asahi's arms.

Nothing else mattered.

***

  
In front of Hinata's house, the music was playing loudly and the fireworks were going crazy high in the sky.

Galvanized by the end of the film, the summer evening and, yes, even a few sips of sparkling wine and beer, everyone was celebrating loudly, planning to apply for prestigious film festivals, dreaming of rich awards, even dreaming of conquering Hollywood.

In the general exaltation, they praised the team, Tokyo and the nationals.

The crows had put their strengths into action and had successfully filmed a great movie, until the very end.  
In a different but equally tenacious way, they would also put their strength on the court of the Tokyo Sports Palace, beat Nekoma and wonderfully get to the end of the nationals.

They would do so.

Meanwhile, not far from there, four people were celebrating - in their own way... - what looked like a wonderful new beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everybody!   
> Here we are at the end of this story, in perfect summer time!  
> I'd be very curious to know what you think, if you liked it... both about the characters and the plot or the dialogues. I had a lot of fun writing this story.  
> For those who still have some doubts about this story, I'll come forward to make a couple of clarifications:  
> \- When, at the end of the previous chapter, Daichi refers to Asahi's chemistry with Michimiya, he is CLEARLY implying chemistry with Michimiya. For his part, Asahi misunderstands and assumes that Daichi refers to Nishinoya. That's why he blushes. And why the misunderstanding is created.  
> \- If you're still wondering where the hell Asahi spent the night... the answer is very simple: outside, wandering between the porch and the garden, trying to calm down and instead finding himself getting more and more anxious.
> 
> I thank all of you, wonderful readers! Most of all I thank Tempuriio for taking the time to tell me their opinion and last but definitely not least, support, edit and even promote this story! This last chapter is dedicated in particular to you, my dear Tempuriio! <3 
> 
> A big hug and... see you next!
> 
> InuAraxHaikuu


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